Over 55,000 employees working at the International Tech Park, Bengaluru (ITBP) will get direct walkway access to the campus from the Pattandur Agrahara metro station. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Information Technology Park Limited (ITPL) on Tuesday, January 17.
The direct walkway access will be provided from the concourse level of the station, BMRCL said in a release. It was further stated that the construction of the access infrastructure will be carried out by the ITPL as per the designs approved by BMRCL, and this will be first such agreement on the Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield line.
In October 2022, BMRCL had conducted its trial run from Whitefield to ITPL. The stretch is part of the Purple line, which is currently operational between Kengeri and Byapanahalli. While a six-car train was operated along the route to check for structural obstructions, the signalling system along the route was also tested.
The Purple line when fully operational, will connect Mysore Road in the west to Whitefield in the east, easing the commute for Bengaluru’s IT workers and others. It was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2020. However, operationalising the whole of the Purple line will take more time, as multiple deadlines have been missed. The BMRCL expects to make the Whitefield-Garudacharpalya stretch operational after February 2023, when the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety will conduct an inspection.
The excessive delays in construction have caused the project cost to spiral. In 2020, TNM reported that the entire project cost has gone up to Rs 14,500 crore from the initial sanctioned amount of Rs 6,395 crore.