Bengaluru’s Namma Metro started its trial run from Whitefield to ITPL on Friday, October 21. The stretch is part of the Purple line, currently operational between Kengeri and Byapanahalli. A six-car train was operated along the route to check for structural obstructions. The signalling system along the route too will be tested.
Once fully functional, the Purple line will connect Mysore Road in the west to Whitefield in the east, making commuting easier for Bangalore’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 still take time, having missed multiple deadlines. For now, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) hopes to make the Whitefield-Garudacharpalya stretch operational after February 2023, when the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety will conduct an inspection.
The trial run was initially announced for September. However, the incessant rains prevented the works from being completed as expected. Last week, BMRCL announced that the trial run would begin on October 25. This was later pushed forward to Friday. Trolley inspection of the tracks from Whitefield to Garudacharpalya was conducted on October 13. BMRCL officials had told the media that digital tools were used, for the first time, in assessing track alignment.
Namma metro completed 11 years of functioning on Thursday, October 20. The construction is now in its second phase. The two other lines opened under this phase are Silk Institute to Yelachenahalli and Mysore Road to Kengeri. The inordinate delays in construction have caused the project cost to shoot up. 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. Neither has the metro service been able to attract as much ridership as the Detailed Project Report (DPR) had predicted. Even before the Covid-19 lockdown, daily ridership was only a little over 5 lakh, as opposed to the 8 lakh mentioned in the DPR. A study by the International Association of Public Transport (IAPT) had stated that the BMRCL will need a ridership of 12.5 lakh to break even.
The trial run for the much awaited Metro between #Whitefield and ITPL was conducted today pic.twitter.com/2F1OR8XAzG
— Aditi (@SpaceAuditi) October 21, 2022