BENGALURU: The second six-coach Metro train for the City, decked with purple and green balloons and coloured paper, was flagged off by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy at 11. 44 am on Thursday from platform one of the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Metro station. The train, which travelled without passengers up to Baiyappanahalli, was put into commercial operations in the evening between Mysuru Road and Baiyappanahalli.
As in the case of the first six-car train which commenced operations on June 22, the coach behind the loco-pilot will be fully reserved for women. BMRCL MD Ajay Seth said that the six-car can accommodate a maximum of 2,074 passengers as compared to around 1,000 by the existing three-car one.
This is part of the Rs 1,421 crore contract for intermediate cars (coaches in-between the first and last coaches) inked between BEML and BMRCL on March 27, 2017 for supply of 150 coaches totally. French lending agency, Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), is offering Metro a loan for the project. The remaining 48 intermediate three-set cars are expected to be delivered by June 2019.
Following the flagging off, the CM chose to travel by a Metro train upto Nagasandra to attend an official event at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a 100-metre long Foot overbridge built at a cost of `1.4 crore. Inauguration of this bridge, connecting the Metro station to the KSRTC Terminal-1, BMTC bus stand, Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station, Anand Rao Circle and Gandhinagar areas, was a long pending demand from commuters.
Deputy CM G Parmeshwara, Transport minister D C Thamanna, Mayor Gangambike, Deputy Mayor Ramila Umshankar and Additional Chief Secretary Urban Development Mahendra Jain took part.