Vaishnaw urges Karnataka govt to fast-track Bengaluru suburban rail project

Union Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Thursday urged the Karnataka government to speed up the impending Bengaluru suburban railway project. He suggested that the authorities employ experts in the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) - a joint venture between the state government and the Ministry of Railways - to fast-track the project.

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"A company called KRIDE, which the state government controls, is doing the Bengaluru suburban railway project. It doesn't have people with high technical expertise. I request the Karnataka government to engage such experts so that the project work can be expedited," Vaishnaw said on the matter, as quoted by news agency PTI.

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"Bengaluru suburban railway project is very important for the people but unfortunately KRIDE at present lacks the kind of expertise it should have. We need people like E Sreedharan who transformed the public transport system in the country," he added.

The Siddaramaiah-led government in the state recently postponed the project completion date from December 2025 to December 2027, which prompted Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya to hit out at the state government and question the delay.

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Echoing the sentiments, Vaishnaw said, “The state government needs to understand that railway is a technical subject and bring technical people in KRIDE.”

(With inputs from PTI)