Faced with a sharp rise in long-distance trains and travellers, Bengaluru has a massive railway infrastructure problem. The city’s three existing rail terminals are just not enough to meet the mounting demand. But the move to build a fourth terminal at Devanahalli has run into hurdles. A new terminal could now come up right inside the city, at Yeswanthpur or Yelahanka.
It is learnt that the South Western Railways (SWR) has identified an alternate plot within its Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) at Yelahanka for the proposed new terminal. Being closer to the city than Devanahalli, the location could be ideal for all north-bound trains to terminate. But railway officials, while indicating that the terminal will be within the city, declined to elaborate and maintained that it would be premature to comment.
SWR catered to 21 crore (212.06 million) passengers in 2024-25 at three terminals — KSR Bengaluru, Yeswanthpur and SMVT at Baiyappanahalli. But, the available 12 pit lines are simply not enough to handle 140 originating, 139 terminating and 142 pass-through trains every day. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
The congestion problem is real. To cater to the footfall of 212.06 million passengers in 2024-25, SWR had only the three terminals at KSR Bengaluru, Yeswanthpur and SMVT at Baiyappanahalli. The available 12 pit lines are simply not enough to handle 140 originating, 139 terminating and 142 pass-through trains every day. It is projected that the originating train numbers will go up to 210, and this could overwhelm the overstretched infrastructure.
