Bengaluru: Commissioner of Railway Safety likely to inspect Cantonment-Byappanahalli quadrupling section on March 29

• CRS to inspect Cantonment-Byappanahalli section on March 29
• Quadrupling project to ease congestion and cut train delays
• Byappanahalli Metro skywalk to be demolished for project works

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Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is likely to conduct a statutory inspection of Cantonment-Byappanahalli section of the track quadrupling project on March 29, South Western Railway sources told Moneycontrol.

This is part of Bengaluru Cantonment-Whitefield (37.8 km) quadrupling project, sanctioned at a cost of Rs 492.8 crore in March 2018. The project was originally scheduled for completion in 2022 but has since missed multiple deadlines.

“Janak Kumar Garg, Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety, New Delhi, is likely to conduct statutory inspections of Almatti-Wandal section on Gadag-Hotgi line, Tumakuru-Urikere and Thimmarajanahalli-Urikere sections, and Bengaluru Cantonment-Byappanahalli quadrupling section between March 24 and 29,” a senior South Western Railway (SWR) official told Moneycontrol.

Also, read: Bengaluru Cantt-Whitefield quadrupling by Dec 2025, Byappanahalli Metro FOB to be razed

The quadrupling work-adding third and fourth lines alongside the existing two-is being implemented under PM Gati Shakti initiative in Bengaluru division of SWR. The additional lines are expected to improve capacity, enable more train operations, and reduce delays.

Another official said inspection is most likely to be conducted between Bengaluru Cantonment and Baiyyappanahalli West Cabin, with no clarity yet on Byappanahalli-Whitefield stretch.

As part of the project, SWR is also planning to demolish the skywalk over the railway tracks connecting Byappanahalli Metro station towards Kasturi Nagar in east Bengaluru.

The KSR Bengaluru City-Whitefield quadrupling project was first sanctioned in the 1997-98 Railway Budget but was delayed due to land acquisition issues between KSR Bengaluru City and Cantonment. In 2017, the alignment was revised to exclude KSR Bengaluru City.

Despite fresh sanction in March 2018 with a target of 2022, the project has seen repeated delays. The Bengaluru Cantonment–Whitefield section remains heavily congested, with capacity utilisation exceeding 100 percent. The quadrupling project is expected to ease bottlenecks, reduce train detentions, and support additional suburban rail services.

The stretch includes six key stations-Bengaluru Cantonment, Bengaluru East, Byappanahalli, KR Puram, Hoodi, and Whitefield.

On the status of other quadrupling works in the Bengaluru region, officials said survey work is in progress for KSR Bengaluru City-Tumakuru (70 km), Bengaluru-Mysuru (137 km), and Bangarpet-Jolarpettai (72 km) sections. Byappanahalli-Hosur (48.5 km) project has had its DPR submitted to the railway board on January 11, 2024, with an estimated cost of Rs 2,550.71 crore, while Whitefield-Bangarpet (47 km) stretch has completed survey work and its DPR is under preparation.