Bengaluru: K-RIDE (Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited) said on Monday that it will float new tenders for the remaining construction work of Corridor 2 of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Corridor project. This corridor spans from Benniganahalli to Chikkabanavara.

The decision was taken following the suggestions from the advocate-general and the tender evaluation team. K-RIDE explained that the contract given to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in August 2022 had been cancelled. The reason was that L&T did not meet the rules of the tender, including not giving the needed performance guarantee and bank guarantee.

To speed up the work, the remaining construction will now be offered in three separate parts. K-RIDE mentioned in its statement that more information about these packages will be shared soon. The suburban railway project is a joint venture between the Centre and the Karnataka government. It is expected to cost Rs 15,767 crore.

The goal is to reduce Bengaluru’s traffic problems by building a 148-kilometre suburban railway across four main routes. Corridor 2, also called the Mallige Line, will connect Benniganahalli in the east to Chikkabanavara in the west. This corridor is important because it links the eastern and western parts of the city and also connects with other metro and suburban rail lines.

L&T had originally received the contract for the civil work of Corridor 2 in 2022. However, because of delays and not following contract terms properly, the agreement was ended. This caused the project to be delayed for almost two years. The contract with L&T officially ended in August, even though the company had already stopped work in March.

L&T had also sent a legal notice saying it had suffered large losses because its staff and machines were idle while waiting for the necessary land to be made available for the project. Among the four corridors in the suburban rail plan, only Corridor 2 had seen some progress. Construction had started on about 25 km of the railway line there.