BENGALURU: The much-awaited Metro elevated line between Mysuru Road and Kengeri became operational on Sunday, with Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai flagging off the first train on the 7.5-km line from Nayandahalli Metro Station at 10.30 am.
The line was supposed to be inaugurated by December 2019. Top politicians, senior government officials and the media dominated the crowd on board but a few passengers managed to make their way on board the first train.
Commercial operations on the Rs 1,820-crore Reach-2 Extension line, which stretches across the western corridor of the East-West Corridor of Phase-I, will be launched on the auspicious day of Janmashtami, August 30, at 7 am.
B R Narasimhan, a quality engineer at Hindustan Unilever Limited, who resides at Magadi Road, reached Nayandahalli in his car. “My five-year-old son Karthick was very excited to take the trip and even got up early in the morning. I also wanted to go around looking at the new stations.” The speed and comfort impressed him.
K N Krishna Prasad of Karnataka Rail Users group was also a happy commuter. “It is a welcome move. We can have seamless connectivity between South West Bengaluru and Central Business District and North East parts of Bengaluru. It reduces burden on our city roads and Kengeri may emerge as an inter-modal hub.”
Vijayakumaran, a retired BHEL employee, billed his experience as a very pleasant one. “I often travel by road along this stretch, which is full of traffic and takes a long time. Now, within 15 minutes, I can travel between Vijayanagar and Kengeri.”
Paving the way
The Mysuru Road-Kengeri Line stretches for 7.5 km
Airport Line, ORR by June 2026: Puri
Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that both Phase-2A from Central Silk Board to KR Puram and Phase-2B from KR Puram to Kempegowda International Airport will be completed by June 2026. The Centre approved them in June 2021. The ORR Line runs for a length of 19.75 km with 13 elevated stations and the Airport Line runs for 38.44 km with 17 elevated stations.
High-speed rail project takes everyone by surprise
Bengaluru will be the only city to be connected by the Metro rail, suburban rail and a high-speed rail projects in the future. “No international airport will have these facilities. It is not a dream, it is possible and we are going to do it,” Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. However, the announcement of high-speed rail project took everyone by surprise as officials seemed to be oblivious to the development.
Metro’s punctuality rate 99.8%
Bengaluru Metro has one of the highest punctuality rates at 99.8 per cent and there is not much scope to improve it further, Puri said. He hoped that when the Bengaluru network spreads and reaches its total potential of 170 km, it could maintain its high punctuality standards and green mobility.
Women in the driver’s seat
The Metro inaugural special was steered by Train Operators Gowthami B A and Smitha M Revanakar. The train, which carried CM Basavaraj Bommai, Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Minister for Cooperation ST Somashekar and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, was driven by two women- M Divyashree and Sree Latha G.
12 High-Density Roads & more CBDs
The city will have 12 High-Density Roads connecting it seamlessly with important neighbouring cities, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. They will be developed using artificial intelligence signalling. As Bengaluru is an economically crucial city, it can potentially house three or four more Central Business Districts (CBD), he added.
A train every 10 minutes
The fare for the new 7.5 km stretch connecting Mysuru Road and Kengeri would be Rs 22. A train will run every 10 minutes between the terminal station Baiyappanahalli and Kengeri, a distance of 25.6 km, including the newly-launched line. The travel time would be 52 minutes and the cost of a ticket would be Rs 56.
With Sunday’s addition, 56.09 km in Bengaluru will be covered by the Metro, making it the third-largest network
Automatic Fare Collection gates will accept the National Common Mobility Card, expected to be launched in Oct
Ticket fare between the Kempegowda Interchange Metro Station and Kengeri Line will be Rs 38