Citizens body urges PM Modi, Siddaramaiah to speed up Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project
Bengaluru (PTI): A citizens' organisation has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to personally intervene to expedite Corridor-1 of the BSRP.
The Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) was commissioned in 2020 to connect Bengaluru with its suburbs and satellite towns via dedicated rail corridors -- similar to suburban rail systems in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
The project with an estimated cost of Rs 15,767 crore was supposed to be completed in December 2025, but now March 2030 is the fresh deadline given by the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) (K-RIDE), a joint venture of the Ministry of Railways and the Karnataka government.
The Citizens for Citizens (C4C) has said that there was unacceptable delays in the crucial Majestic-Kempegowda International Airport corridor, a project expected to significantly improve the quality of life for nearly two crore people in and around Bengaluru.
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In a detailed letter to Modi and Siddaramaiah, the group said the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project, being executed by K-RIDE, has fallen far behind schedule despite its strategic importance to the city's public transport ecosystem and the state government holding a 51 per cent stake in the implementing agency.
In the letter to Siddaramaiah on January 23, the C4C founder and convener Rajkumar Dugar said, "BSRP being executed by K-RIDE - in which GoK has 51 per cent stake - is running way behind schedule."
The forum recalled that the project was reviewed by the Prime Minister on December 31, 2025, during which directions were issued for speedy execution.
The citizens' body pointed out that when BSRP was sanctioned in October 2020, Corridor-1 was considered the most vital stretch connecting the city centre to the airport.
The stretch was prioritised for completion within 36 months, which was also endorsed by the State's Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT).
However, Dugar noted that even 63 months after sanction, no on-ground work has commenced on the corridor.
Highlighting the missing deadlines, C4C founder said, "63 months post-sanction, on-ground work is yet to start on Corridor-1, and shockingly, the latest target for completion of C1 is March 2030, i.e., 50 months from now." This, he said, would mean a total of 113 months for a project originally planned for completion in three years.
He requested a strong budgetary allocation for C1 in the upcoming budget as well as facilitation of Land Acquisition (LA) along with directions for C1 to be completed in next 24 months.
"We firmly believe with your kind intervention, January 2028 for commissioning of C1 is 100 per cent doable," Dugar said in his letter to Modi and Siddaramaiah.
While laying foundation stone for the BSRP in June 2022, the Prime Minister had announced that the project which was delayed for 40 years would be completed in 40 months. With this announcement, Modi had set a deadline of December 2025.
As the project delayed, the Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil announced in February 2024 that the project would be completed by December 2027.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
