BENGALURU: The city’s first six-coach Metro train is all set to roll out to help commuters who now travel in jampacked coaches on the Purple Line during peak hours. The tentative plan now is to run three trips during morning peak hour and two in the evening peak hour. With the extended train set to carry 1,950 passengers, double the present capacity of 975, the plan is to run it when the platforms are overcrowded.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, A S Shankar, Executive Director, Operations and Maintenance, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), said, “Tentatively, this is the plan we have chalked out for the operations set to commence this week. There will be three trips run during morning peak hour from the Mysuru Road end towards the Eastern side and two trips in the evening from the Baiyapanahalli end to the Western side.” Peak hour is from 8am to 10.30am and from 5.30pm to 8pm.
The scheduled morning trips as of now are: Mysuru Road to Baiyappanahalli, Mysuru Road to M G Road and Vijayanagar to Baiyappanahalli. The scheduled evening trips are: Baiyappanahlli to Mysuru Road (twice). The evening trip is likely to begin at 5.30 pm and the second one at 6.45 pm, he added.
Asked about the reasons for not running more trips, Shankar said, “It takes 70 minutes for the train to complete one round trip: from Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road and back. Since, we will have only one coach initially, we have planned accordingly.” Depending on the patronage, the trips can be rescheduled, he added.The trips will be juggled around as more six-car trains arrive, he added.
Timeline of safety checks
The Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) already conducted inspections of the 6-coach train on April 1, from Sir M Visvesvaraya Metro Station to Baiyappanahalli Metro Station. By May-end, BMRCL had sent a report to the Research Designs and Standard Organisation of Railways in Lucknow, after clearance of the Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) tests. The RDSO okayed it and forwarded it to the Railway Board.