BENGALURU: The classy exteriors of Namma Metro trains take a beating on and off from stones thrown at them by miscreants. Though no passenger has so far got injured, thanks to the closed windows and doors and sturdiness, the fear of something untoward happening to its commuters is prompting the BMRCL to take precautionary steps.
The closed and protected Metro trains and stations and 24x7 security makes vandalism difficult. However, miscreants manage to escape it by throwing random stones on passing trains from outside the compound walls where tracks are laid, a senior Metro official said.
“Underground stations are safe from such vandalism as they are below residential localities. However, a few stations at the ground level do have the issue,” he added. Magadi Road, Chickpet, National College, City Railway and Srirampura stations have recorded such incidents where the glass panes have cracked, an official said. Statistics were not available with BMRCL despite repeated requests. “We can probably say one stone throwing incident is recorded every month,” he said.
Another official said that due to the double-glazed windows and doors provided across coaches, stones have not hit passengers. “Cracks develop on the exterior glass. It never impacts the second layer. There is vacuum between the two layers too. However, as a matter of passenger safety, we withdraw the train completely from service when it finishes that trip in case of any stone throwing incident. The specific train is put back into service only after the glass is fully replaced,” he explained. It costs BMRCL nearly Rs 10,000 to replace a single damaged glass, he added.
Executive Director, Operations and Maintenance, AS Shankar said, “Wherever possible, we are putting up high barricades so that the stones thrown do not reach the trains. Surveillance in areas considered as dangerous spots too has been increased.”