BENGALURU: Buoyed by the smooth transition of the 4-minute frequency between Mysore Road and Baiyappanahalli Metro stations on Monday, Metro has now replicated it during peak evening hours without much fanfare.
On Tuesday evening, passengers were in for a surprise when the display board clocked timings at four-minute intervals. The first 4-minute run in the evening was introduced at 5.28pm from Baiyapannahalli to Mysore Road station, said Metro officials. It commenced at 6.08pm from Mysore Road to Baiyappanahalli. Trains were running at a 6-minute frequency here earlier.
The day also marked the start of a 4-minute run in the morning from the Baiyappanahalli to Mysore Road end for a 40-minute duration. Metro had informed earlier that due to the extended peak hours in the evenings, trains would run only at a 6-minute frequency during that time.
Confirming the development, BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “The successful 4-minute run gave immense confidence to Metro officials, loco pilots and the operations team. The response we received prompted us to introduce it for some time in the evenings too.”
From running a train every 10 minutes, Metro has reduced it to 8 minutes, 6 minutes, 5 minutes and finally 4 minutes during peak timings, the MD said. “These steps are being taken to ready us to run a train every 3 minutes a couple of months before Phase-I is fully ready for operation,” he added.
The entire 43.3 km Phase I is set for commercial operations by April 2017.
Metro has deployed 19 trains additionally during the peak hours instead of the regular 15 trains, Kharola said.