Traffic congestion is a major complaint of most Bengalureans. Everyday commute to work is no less than a Herculean task for most. Is suburban rail network then a possible solution to the traffic chaos in the city? We asked citizens who endure the daily traffic ordeal to make their choice.
Here's Sriharsha D V, a software engineer, who finds travelling by train cheaper and faster. He has been advocating train travel for long, urging people to do the same. He travels daily by train to his workplace and believes that there is a need to popularise the trains. According to him, "The only way to do it would be to flock the trains, increase the number of travellers. The current consumption of existing services is way less than the capacity of the coaches."
Agreeing with this view is Suhas N, a mobility consultant. As someone who usually finds himself on the road for more than three hours a day, he talks about leveraging the available railway infrastructure to efficiently utilise the suburban rail network, instead of flyovers or other projects.
Suhas explains, "The railway stations at Nayandahalli/Kengeri, Majestic, Hebbal, Yelahanka, Hoodi and Whitefield can be connected with existing tracks and this will reduce much of the burden on the roads. This is a cost-effective solution compared to the Metro."
Daily commuters on NICE Road Rajesh Chillappagari and Krishna, both engineers, feel suburban rail network should be the right option as it helps reduce the density of vehicles on the roads. An eco-friendly initiative, it is economical for long-distance travel, they say.
Another commuter, Manoj, who is an aerospace engineer, prefers a battery-operated railway network in Bengaluru. "The batteries could be recharged using solar energy. This will be efficient and can take us a long way. There are trains running on electricity in other Metro cities," he says.
A Metro-linked commuter railway network is another possible solution to ease traffic gridlocks. Many suggest this linkage to ease traffic hurdles.
Shripathy Hadigal, a travel photographer, feels that "the capabilities of intra-city trains have been ignored." He sees a need for meticulous planning in utilisation of the limited facilities available. "One train that could carry hundreds of people from the centre of the city to Kengeri can result in several vehicles getting off the Mysuru Road. The journey that takes hours will drastically come down to a few minutes."
Vouching for an inter-modal transport system, Hadigal says, "If a rail network is planned in tandem with the Metro, certainly every over-ambitious, ill-planned flyover and road-widening project can be stopped."
Arathy B, head of customer relations at a private firm, welcomes any public transport plan that might reduce the commute time. "Having a Metro connection between Vijayanagar and Electronics City and Hosur Road would actually bring down my travel time to only half an hour from two hours," she says.
Supporting the suburban railway network initiative, she looks at it as a way to lead a healthy, stress-free life.
On the other hand, Krishna Hathwar, a lead engineer who spends three hours in traffic every day, opines that the Metro is a better alternative for Bengaluru. The city, he contends, has grown too big to accommodate a suburban railway system.
Karthik Bhat travels to ITPB, Whitefield on work from Bull Temple Road, spending two to three hours on the road.
He says, "The Metro service which has been provided only till Baiyappanahalli should have been extended at least till Tin Factory and ITPL."
Bhat says transportation planning should have been done keeping in mind the long-term effects.
In the current situation —where the roads are almost always chock-a-block with traffic — the need of the hour is to arrive at a long-term, efficient plan and execute it cautiously. Suburban rail network is seen as a cost-effective, eco-friendly solution which could be linked with Metro to ease stressful commute around the city.
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Traffic congestion is a major complaint of most Bengalureans. Everyday commute to work is no less than a Herculean task for most. Is suburban rail network then a possible solution to the traffic chaos in the city? We asked citizens who endure the daily traffic ordeal to make their choice.
Here’s Sriharsha D V, a software engineer, who finds travelling by train cheaper and faster. He has been advocating train travel for long, urging people to do the same. He travels daily by train to his workplace and believes that there is a need to popularise the trains. According to him, "The only way to do it would be to flock the trains, increase the number of travellers. The current consumption of existing services is way less than the capacity of the coaches.”
Agreeing with this view is Suhas N, a mobility consultant. As someone who usually finds himself on the road for more than three hours a day, he talks about leveraging the available railway infrastructure to efficiently utilise the suburban rail network, instead of flyovers or other projects.
Suhas explains, "The railway stations at Nayandahalli/Kengeri, Majestic, Hebbal, Yelahanka, Hoodi and Whitefield can be connected with existing tracks and this will reduce much of the burden on the roads. This is a cost-effective solution compared to the Metro.”
Daily commuters on NICE Road Rajesh Chillappagari and Krishna, both engineers, feel suburban rail network should be the right option as it helps reduce the density of vehicles on the roads. An eco-friendly initiative, it is economical for long-distance travel, they say.
Another commuter, Manoj, who is an aerospace engineer, prefers a battery-operated railway network in Bengaluru. "The batteries could be recharged using solar energy. This will be efficient and can take us a long way. There are trains running on electricity in other Metro cities,” he says.
A Metro-linked commuter railway network is another possible solution to ease traffic gridlocks. Many suggest this linkage to ease traffic hurdles.
Shripathy Hadigal, a travel photographer, feels that "the capabilities of intra-city trains have been ignored.” He sees a need for meticulous planning in utilisation of the limited facilities available. "One train that could carry hundreds of people from the centre of the city to Kengeri can result in several vehicles getting off the Mysuru Road. The journey that takes hours will drastically come down to a few minutes.”
Vouching for an inter-modal transport system, Hadigal says, "If a rail network is planned in tandem with the Metro, certainly every over-ambitious, ill-planned flyover and road-widening project can be stopped.”
Arathy B, head of customer relations at a private firm, welcomes any public transport plan that might reduce the commute time. "Having a Metro connection between Vijayanagar and Electronics City and Hosur Road would actually bring down my travel time to only half an hour from two hours,” she says.
Supporting the suburban railway network initiative, she looks at it as a way to lead a healthy, stress-free life.
On the other hand, Krishna Hathwar, a lead engineer who spends three hours in traffic every day, opines that the Metro is a better alternative for Bengaluru. The city, he contends, has grown too big to accommodate a suburban railway system.
Karthik Bhat travels to ITPB, Whitefield on work from Bull Temple Road, spending two to three hours on the road.
He says, "The Metro service which has been provided only till Baiyappanahalli should have been extended at least till Tin Factory and ITPL.”
Bhat says transportation planning should have been done keeping in mind the long-term effects.
In the current situation —where the roads are almost always chock-a-block with traffic — the need of the hour is to arrive at a long-term, efficient plan and execute it cautiously. Suburban rail network is seen as a cost-effective, eco-friendly solution which could be linked with Metro to ease stressful commute around the city.
Here's Sriharsha D V, a software engineer, who finds travelling by train cheaper and faster. He has been advocating train travel for long, urging people to do the same. He travels daily by train to his workplace and believes that there is a need to popularise the trains. According to him, "The only way to do it would be to flock the trains, increase the number of travellers. The current consumption of existing services is way less than the capacity of the coaches."
Agreeing with this view is Suhas N, a mobility consultant. As someone who usually finds himself on the road for more than three hours a day, he talks about leveraging the available railway infrastructure to efficiently utilise the suburban rail network, instead of flyovers or other projects.
Suhas explains, "The railway stations at Nayandahalli/Kengeri, Majestic, Hebbal, Yelahanka, Hoodi and Whitefield can be connected with existing tracks and this will reduce much of the burden on the roads. This is a cost-effective solution compared to the Metro."
Daily commuters on NICE Road Rajesh Chillappagari and Krishna, both engineers, feel suburban rail network should be the right option as it helps reduce the density of vehicles on the roads. An eco-friendly initiative, it is economical for long-distance travel, they say.
Another commuter, Manoj, who is an aerospace engineer, prefers a battery-operated railway network in Bengaluru. "The batteries could be recharged using solar energy. This will be efficient and can take us a long way. There are trains running on electricity in other Metro cities," he says.
A Metro-linked commuter railway network is another possible solution to ease traffic gridlocks. Many suggest this linkage to ease traffic hurdles.
Shripathy Hadigal, a travel photographer, feels that "the capabilities of intra-city trains have been ignored." He sees a need for meticulous planning in utilisation of the limited facilities available. "One train that could carry hundreds of people from the centre of the city to Kengeri can result in several vehicles getting off the Mysuru Road. The journey that takes hours will drastically come down to a few minutes."
Vouching for an inter-modal transport system, Hadigal says, "If a rail network is planned in tandem with the Metro, certainly every over-ambitious, ill-planned flyover and road-widening project can be stopped."
Arathy B, head of customer relations at a private firm, welcomes any public transport plan that might reduce the commute time. "Having a Metro connection between Vijayanagar and Electronics City and Hosur Road would actually bring down my travel time to only half an hour from two hours," she says.
Supporting the suburban railway network initiative, she looks at it as a way to lead a healthy, stress-free life.
On the other hand, Krishna Hathwar, a lead engineer who spends three hours in traffic every day, opines that the Metro is a better alternative for Bengaluru. The city, he contends, has grown too big to accommodate a suburban railway system.
Karthik Bhat travels to ITPB, Whitefield on work from Bull Temple Road, spending two to three hours on the road.
He says, "The Metro service which has been provided only till Baiyappanahalli should have been extended at least till Tin Factory and ITPL."
Bhat says transportation planning should have been done keeping in mind the long-term effects.
In the current situation —where the roads are almost always chock-a-block with traffic — the need of the hour is to arrive at a long-term, efficient plan and execute it cautiously. Suburban rail network is seen as a cost-effective, eco-friendly solution which could be linked with Metro to ease stressful commute around the city.
Traffic congestion is a major complaint of most Bengalureans. Everyday commute to work is no less than a Herculean task for most. Is suburban rail network then a possible solution to the traffic chaos in the city? We asked citizens who endure the daily traffic ordeal to make their choice.Here’s Sriharsha D V, a software engineer, who finds travelling by train cheaper and faster. He has been advocating train travel for long, urging people to do the same. He travels daily by train to his workplace and believes that there is a need to popularise the trains. According to him, "The only way to do it would be to flock the trains, increase the number of travellers. The current consumption of existing services is way less than the capacity of the coaches.”
Agreeing with this view is Suhas N, a mobility consultant. As someone who usually finds himself on the road for more than three hours a day, he talks about leveraging the available railway infrastructure to efficiently utilise the suburban rail network, instead of flyovers or other projects.
Suhas explains, "The railway stations at Nayandahalli/Kengeri, Majestic, Hebbal, Yelahanka, Hoodi and Whitefield can be connected with existing tracks and this will reduce much of the burden on the roads. This is a cost-effective solution compared to the Metro.”
Daily commuters on NICE Road Rajesh Chillappagari and Krishna, both engineers, feel suburban rail network should be the right option as it helps reduce the density of vehicles on the roads. An eco-friendly initiative, it is economical for long-distance travel, they say.
Another commuter, Manoj, who is an aerospace engineer, prefers a battery-operated railway network in Bengaluru. "The batteries could be recharged using solar energy. This will be efficient and can take us a long way. There are trains running on electricity in other Metro cities,” he says.
A Metro-linked commuter railway network is another possible solution to ease traffic gridlocks. Many suggest this linkage to ease traffic hurdles.
Shripathy Hadigal, a travel photographer, feels that "the capabilities of intra-city trains have been ignored.” He sees a need for meticulous planning in utilisation of the limited facilities available. "One train that could carry hundreds of people from the centre of the city to Kengeri can result in several vehicles getting off the Mysuru Road. The journey that takes hours will drastically come down to a few minutes.”
Vouching for an inter-modal transport system, Hadigal says, "If a rail network is planned in tandem with the Metro, certainly every over-ambitious, ill-planned flyover and road-widening project can be stopped.”
Arathy B, head of customer relations at a private firm, welcomes any public transport plan that might reduce the commute time. "Having a Metro connection between Vijayanagar and Electronics City and Hosur Road would actually bring down my travel time to only half an hour from two hours,” she says.
Supporting the suburban railway network initiative, she looks at it as a way to lead a healthy, stress-free life.
On the other hand, Krishna Hathwar, a lead engineer who spends three hours in traffic every day, opines that the Metro is a better alternative for Bengaluru. The city, he contends, has grown too big to accommodate a suburban railway system.
Karthik Bhat travels to ITPB, Whitefield on work from Bull Temple Road, spending two to three hours on the road.
He says, "The Metro service which has been provided only till Baiyappanahalli should have been extended at least till Tin Factory and ITPL.”
Bhat says transportation planning should have been done keeping in mind the long-term effects.
In the current situation —where the roads are almost always chock-a-block with traffic — the need of the hour is to arrive at a long-term, efficient plan and execute it cautiously. Suburban rail network is seen as a cost-effective, eco-friendly solution which could be linked with Metro to ease stressful commute around the city.