BENGALURU: Metro station and the need to carry out signalling synchronisation on the full Purple Line from Challaghatta station to Whitefield Kadugodi are the reasons, said Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director Anjum Parwez.
This missing link was to be launched by July with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar too announcing it during his review meeting with BMRCL.
Parwez told TNIE, "Though only 2.5-km of a stretch remain between Baiyappanahalli and KR Pura remains, the signalling now has to be reset for the full Purple Line which is getting ready. Hence, this has to be done for the entire line now," he explained. PM Modi inaugurated the 13.71-km long Kadugodi-K R Pura stretch on March 25 and the occupancy levels on this stretch average between 26,000 and 27,000 commuters daily presently. The full East-West Line will run to a total of 43.49 km.
The MD added that the electric supply for the newly launched line was presently being drawn from the Garudacharpalya station. "This has to be now shifted to Baiyappanahalli station. This takes some time," he said. The Jyotipura Metro station is yet to be completed. We are looking at conducting train trial runs by mid-July and launch by August-end," he added. However, sources inside BMRCL say the line could be ready only by September.
Asked about the work pending at Jyotipura, a senior official said that the station runs to a length of 130 metres with elevation work on the sidewall still pending. "The station has 50% of the wall having a stone wall which is ready. The other half is supposed to have aluminium glazing, louvre panel and other aspects and these are not yet ready. The Systems work too is pending along with some minor completion works," he said.
On the recurring complaint from present commuters on the new line about the absence of parking spaces, the MD said that land was not available along the Kadugodi-K R Pura stretch. "We have limited parking space and only two-wheelers can be accommodated as of now," he said.