Bengaluru: New railway terminal roof leaks, building flooded

Bengaluru: Bengaluru witnessed a heavy rain on Saturday which caused the ceilings to leak and the floor to flood at the city's new Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal in Byappanahalli. The terminal, which is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon, is the first centralised air-conditioned railway terminal in the country built at a cost of Rs 314 crore and has an airport-like design.

But the video went viral on social media showing water pouring into the station from a gap in the ceiling and a man standing in thigh-deep water that had flooded in the subway connecting two platforms due to the heavy rain. According to the Indian Meteorological Department reports, the city overall saw seven centimetres of rainfall in the day. Rainfall occurred at many places over south interior Karnataka and at isolated places over coastal Karnataka and north interior Karnataka.

South Western Railway (SWR) released a statement stating that "the overflow from the valley gutter of the roof canopy leading rainwater into drain resulted in the ingress of water into the main building for some time, which receded upon cessation of rain. Our team has identified the problem and is committed to putting remedial measures in place. The water flow on the canopy (completed since Sept 2020), has been successfully tested last monsoon. However, the rainwater harvesting system is being fine-tuned for contingencies or sudden heavy downpour to prevent any backflow and channel smooth flow to the drainage system. We are committed to ensuring the safety and convenience of our passengers," SWR said.

The inauguration of the new terminal that was earlier scheduled for March 15, has been delayed.

The terminal is touted to be a modern coaching terminal equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The terminal, which is designed on the lines of Bengaluru airport, has a waiting hall, a VIP lounge with a digital real-time passenger information system and a lavish food court. It also has its own water recycling plant with a capacity of 4 lakh litres. The station structure of the terminal consists of about 4,200 square metres of covered area and is expected to receive a daily footfall of about 50,000. The terminal has seven platforms, and eight stabling lines; apart from these, three pit lines enable the terminal to operate 50 trains daily. It is expected to handle 32 pairs of trains once operations begin.