Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) is considering extending Bengaluru’s Namma Metro service beyond 10 pm. The service, which began a month ago, has helped put Bengaluru’s traffic woes behind it and currently operates from 6 am in the morning to 10 pm in the night but it could be extended soon.
Bengaluru’s metro closes the earliest compared to other cities. In Kolkata, metro services were extended to 10:45 pm in March while Delhi metro services operate till 11 pm. Mumbai’s local train service is active well beyond 1 am in the night.
U. A Vasanth Rao, Public Relations Officer at BMRCL revealed that they are considering extending the services if there is a need for it. “It is under consideration. We have to find out whether we have the numbers for it. People can ask for the option but it is an entirely different thing to actually use the service. We cannot be running ghost trains at the cost of government expense,” he said.
The metro service was extended to 12:30 am on IPL match days but officials unanimously agreed that it is not feasible to run empty trains at the cost of government money. However, it is possible to request the BMRCL to extend the metro service. “We made an exception when the Peenya Industries Association came forward and told us a minimum amount of people will definitely travel in trains beyond 10 pm. We extended the metro services to 11 pm on the Green line," Rao said.
Subhash Ramesh, working at Edelman on MG Road welcomes the suggestion of extending the metro service beyond 10 pm. “Not all offices are close to the metro, so there are occasions when I have to leave work early to make it in time to the last metro back. Also, the last train at 10 pm is typically crowded and sometimes people cannot get onto the train,” he says.
Any company can make a request to BMRCL directly if they can confirm a definite number of employees who will use the service after 10 pm. “We have spoken to software companies and we have told them that if they can give us a number, say 1500 to 2000 people who will definitely use the metro, then we will extend the service beyond 10 pm. The frequency may be reduced to once in every twenty minutes for the last hour of operation,” Rao added.