BENGALURU: It’s now official. After days of speculation over the commencement of the underground section of the East-West Corridor, Namma Metro has announced that the inaugural function will be held on April 29 and the first commercial run will take place on April 30.
With the commencement of operations on the 4.8-km underground corridor, the City’s East and West will have a direct link from Nayandahalli (Mysuru Road) to Baiyappanahalli.
Speaking to Express, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “We will hold the inaugural function in front of the Vidhana Soudha at 6 pm on April 29. Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the underground section,” he said. All state ministers and Union ministers from the state will take part in the function, he said.
A train could be symbolically flagged off from Vidhana Soudha Metro station to mark the event, but this is still to be finalised, said a top Metro official.
What really will matter to Bengalureans is that the first commercial run will take place at 6 am on Saturday. “Trains that will run the entire East-West stretch will be flagged off simultaneously from both the end stations — Mysuru Road and Baiyappanahalli,” Kharola said.
The underground network covers Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, Sir M Visvesvaraya, Kempe Gowda and City stations. The entire East-West Corridor (also known as Purple Line) covers 18.1 km and comprises 17 stations.
Metro’s ridership, which is now at 45,000 daily, is set to increase manifold after the launch. The journey is expected to be covered in 33 minutes and the cost for the entire trip will be Rs 40.
The stretch missed numerous deadlines. It was originally set to go commercial by November 2015. The deadline was extended to December 2015, January 2016, February 2016, March 2016 and finally it is set to commence by April 2016. Delay in completion of underground work at the Kempe Gowda Interchange station is one of the major reasons for the delay.
