This dream of Bengalureans will become reality in April

Operations on the East-West corridor of Namma Metro will finally commence in April. Having received the go-ahead from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), officials are gearing up to run trains from Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road.

While they might not make the April 14 launch date, plans are afoot to start services on April 17. But officials are unwilling to reveal the exact launch date.

The East-West corridor, called the Purple Line by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), will be a first on several fronts. It will be the first complete corridor cutting across the city and the first complete line to begin operations for Namma Metro. Besides this, it will be the first metro project in south India to have a working underground section.

“We want to be sure that everything is in place for the launch. There have been some suggestions from the CRS, which are being implemented. This will take a few days, which means that the April 14 launch looks impossible, but we are working as fast as we can,” a senior BMRCL official said.

Several VIPs are expected at the launch. The function will be held at either Vidhan Soudha or Manekshaw Parade Grounds, sources said.

The major pending work is fire safety clearance for Majestic station, which is expected to take four more days. “Besides that, there are some minor civil works, which have been pointed out by the CRS. These will also be completed soon,” the official said.

With five stations located underground and a route that passes through some of the busiest parts of the city, BMRCL is hoping that the line will be utilised extensively by lawyers, students, visitors to Vidhan Soudha in addition to the regular commuters.

Phase 1 of Namma Metro will be further delayed till the end of this year. Once the Purple Line is completed, BMRC will have an uphill task completing the Green line to make Phase 1 of the project operational. With tunnelling work on the underground section progressing at a snail’s pace, the deadline has been pushed to December 2016.

The Green Line, or the North-South corridor, connects Nagasandra in the north to Puttenahalli in the south through 5 Reaches and one underground section. Of these, three Reaches between Nagasandra and Sampige Road station are operational. However, BMRCL has not been able to get a train to the southern lines to begin trials or operations because of difficulties in drilling in the underground section.

Now, the plan is to start services between Puttenahalli and National College by September or October as soon as a train can be pushed through to this stretch. But the Kaveri Tunnel Boring Machine is struggling to meet the daily target due to the terrain below City Market and Majestic, officials said.

At the current rate of drilling, officials estimate that the stretch can be made operational only in December.

By January next year, around 6 lakh people are estimated to begin using Phase 1. The number is expected to increase in the coming months.

“By September 2017, we expect to carry 10 lakh passengers,” a senior official with BMRCL said.

Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road

Distance by metro: 18.2 km

Cost of ticket: Rs. 40

Time required: 35 minutes

Time required by road: 60 minutes

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Smart card discount: 15%