Govt comes up with nine options to reach the airport; you choose the best

BENGALURU: The authorities have been scratching their brains over a rapid mass transit link to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), near Devanahalli, about 25km from the city for nearly a decade. Initially, there was a proposal to develop a high speed rail link (HSRL), only to be replaced by a proposal to have metro connectivity to KIA.
Now, without the plans assuming any concrete shape on the drawing board, the state government, having identified nine possible metro routes to the airport, has sought public opinion to finalise its plans.
On Wednesday , chief minister Siddaramaiah announced that the possible routes had been identified by RITES (a railway subsidiary and consultant on transport related infrastructure) for the airport metro. The maps of these routes have been uploaded on Bengluru Metro Rail Corporation's (BMRC) website.
TOI looks at how these routes will reduce commuting time to the airport, besides creating transit-oriented development (TOD), in areas of north and east Bengaluru Kannur, Bagalur, Budigere and Yelahanka among other areas.
According to BMRC, completion of any of the nine routes will take about four to five years.
The route from MG Road to KIA, via Mehkri Circle-Hebbal-Ballari Road, was initially proposed for the HSRL in 2012, but the project was subsequently shelved, and BMRCL was entrusted with the task of constructing a metro link.
Originally, RITES proposed five routes; the list was subsequently extended to include four others. Gottigere-Nagavara line to the airport via Kannur and Bagalur, Yeshwanthpur Kodigehalli-Yelahanka are two of the proposed routes.
The government appears keen on extending the Gottigere-Nagawara metro line, through Hebbal along Ballari Road a 29.1km stretch that is estimated to cost Rs 4,656 crore. Construction is expected to take three years. The state government even got involved in discussion with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to acquire land for the project.While the travelling time from Gottigere to KIA, with just two stops Hebbal and Yelahanka would take 44 minutes, BMRC's plan to have five additional stations, would eventually extend the time to 55 minutes.
On the other hand, a KR PuramBudigere Cross-KIA route would immensely benefit residents of Whitefield, Sarjapura, Electronic City and Bellandur, since they would no longer have to endure traffic snarls on Outer Ring Road to reach Hebbal. However, it is the Yeshwantpur-Yelahanka line, through Kannur and Bagalur that BMRC believes has tremendous passenger potential. However, at Rs 7,080 crore, it is also the costliest.
Observations made by RITES regarding some of the key issues ­ distance, time of completion, cost, incremental increase in ridership ­ have also been put up on BMRCL's site.
However, there is no deadline that has been set for people to submit their suggestions or objections. Brushing aside concerns over the project's timeline, BMRC MD Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “The suggestions have just started coming in. Let us first finalise the route.“ Interestingly, the CM has not set a deadline either.
The routes have been uploaded on http:www.bmrc.co.inpdfnews airportlink_orr.PDF and citizens have been asked to email their responses to: bmrcl@dataone.in