Journey from Bangalore City to the airport in Suburban train

Overview: Ever since it was announced that the suburban train to KIA airport, Bangalore has been started, I wanted to try it out to find out how much time it saves and its convenience.

So I decided to take the train on Jan 6, 2021, on day 3 of its run. I wanted to board the 4:45am train from Bangalore City railway station, but since the return train at 7:50am from airport terminates at Bangalore Cantonment, I decided to park my vehicle at Cantt railway station and board the train.

After taking the Rs 10 ticket, I was waiting at platform 2 for the arrival of the train. The train was on time and arrived at 4:55am at Cantonment railway station. I checked the first 2 coaches and there was no passengers other than me. I however expected the train to the airport to be a bit more cleaner than it turned out to be. The train chugged through Bangalore East, Baiyappanahalli, Chennasandra, Yelahanka, Bettahalasur, Dodjala before reaching the KIA halt. The train which was supposed to reach at 5:50, reached at around 5:57am, which was accepatable. The KIA(H) railway station had a swanky international look with good basic amenities like clean toilets, a Coffee shop, display of train and flight timings. The shuttle service to the airport was waiting just outside the station and was scheduled to depart at 6am. But since our train was 7 mins late, the bus also departed slightly late after waiting for all passengers to board.

The journey from the Airport Halt railway station to the terminal took around 10 mins, and we reached the departure terminal at around 6:18am. Overall, it took around 80 mins to reach the Terminal from the Cantonment railway station.

The return shuttle starts from Pickup gate number 5 near the arrivals.

A few observations from my side:

Positives:

1. Saves the commute time during peak hours

2. Ample space for luggage in the train as well as the Bus shuttle

3. The train is mostly on time

4. Very cost effective at Rs 10-15

5. Direct interchange with Namma Metro at Yeswantpur and Baiyappanahalli railway stations

Can improve:

1. The 4:45am departure from KSR and 11:30pm departure from KIAD will have very less takers due to the odd timings and may not have the time advantage also as the traffic will be less even by road.

2. More trains should be added in peak hours (considering the flight arrivals/departures)

3. The trains can be a bit more cleaner with display boards on the ETA to the airport

4. The train timings should be carefully monitored over 3 months to see the predictability

5. The trains should be extended to Bidadi, Hosur, Tumkur and Whitefield

Overall, a good start and hope people make good use of the service so that the frequency can be increased.

Cantonment Railway Station

Suburban train interior

Arrival at the Airport Halt railway station

Arrival at the Terminal

Pick up Point at the airport


Shuttle interiors

KIA Halt Railway station

Airport Halt railway station

Airport Halt railway station

Airport Halt railway station

Comments

  1. Very well explained, Arun Bharadwaj. I too took the same trains but on the first day (4th Jan). I fully agree with your list of Positives and Can Improve. Reliability of services is the key. In addition, we need additional services to cover Whitefield and Hosur Lines. I am surprised with the new Time Table for 06280 which will take 2Hours 20Minutes to reach City from Devanahalli. DRM has assured this will be looked into. Most important now is to upgrade Doddajala from Halt to Crossing Station so that trains can move with lesser gaps especially at Peak Hours. Electrification must be completed on a war-footing so that MEMU trains can be used (instead of the present DEMU). Train Time Tables, and if possible, real Time Train info should be dispalyed at the Shuttle Bus Bay at Airport Terminal. Good integration of Platforms used by T2A at SBC, YPR & BYPL with nearby Metro Stations will go a long way in encouraging people to use combo of Metro & Railways. All these steps will help Bluru manage the 3-4 years time it will take to have proper Suburban Trains upto the Airport Terminal. Rajkumar Dugar

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely and given the less express trains running these days due to Covid, its a good opportunity for the Railways to focus more on Suburban connectivity.

      Delete
  2. Very good and detailed information Arun. May be they can also focus on shorter routes to Airport. This will avoid traffic and would benefit larger group.

    ReplyDelete

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