The new Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru, which is touted to be modelled after the city’s international airport and has multiple grand features, is set to open for the public on June 6. Despite being completed over a year ago, the South Western Railways has been awaiting a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its inauguration. While the formal inauguration will take place at a later date, the station will be open to the public soon. Here are five things to know about the new Visvesvaraya terminal:
> The terminal was built at a cost of Rs 300 crore and has an area of 4200 sq metres to cater for a daily footfall of 50,000. It is touted as the first centrally air-conditioned train terminal in India, and has a waiting hall, a VIP lounge with a digital real-time passenger information system and a food court. It will also have its own water recycling plant with a capacity of 4 lakh litres, officials had said earlier. Further, it also has a large parking space, which can accommodate 250 four-wheelers and 900 two-wheelers.
> The terminal has seven platforms. It also has eight stabling lines and three pit lines to enable it to operate 50 trains daily. The South Western Railways aims to operate about 32 pairs of trains from the terminal, and will be gradually increased later, an official had told The Hindu.
> The tri-weekly Banaswadi-Ernakulam express will be the first train to run from the terminal, starting on June 6. The Ernakulam–SMVB (train number 12683/12684), Kochuveli–SMVB Express (16319/16320) and Patna-MVB (22353/22354) will run from the terminal when it opens, a report in The Hindu states.
> Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal is the country’s third world-class terminal, after the Gandhinagar station in Gujarat and the Rani Kamlapati station in Madhya Pradesh.
> The new terminal in Bengaluru is also touted to be disability-friendly, with accessible waiting halls, braille signage and disability-friendly bathrooms.