Bengaluru: With the completion of the underground portion of the east-west corridor, Namma Metro is set to be completed by the end of this month. Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) took almost four months to complete the construction work on the 5.12-km stretch.
Speaking to the media on the occasion of underground station construction work, Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director, BMRCL, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu will flag off the train on April 29 at 6 pm from the grand stairs of Vidhana Soudha.
Minister for Bengaluru Development KJ George promised that the entire stretch of phase one of Namma Metro which consists both east-west and north-south corridors spread over 42.3 km will be operational on November 1 to mark Karnataka Rajyotsava (Karnataka formation day).
The tunnel boring work at north-south corridor is in its final stages and is expected to be completed shortly. It is said that BMRCL is set to complete the tunnel work within two months including other pending work on or before November 1, George said.
Low fares:
Pradeep Singh Kharola, MD of BMRCL said the cost of the train ticket fare is likely to be fixed at Rs 40 to commute between Biayappanahalli and Nayandahalli which is much cheaper than the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus fare. We are offering 15% discount for smart card users. There will be two types of smart cards called ‘value’ and ‘varshik’, Kharola said.
According to Kharola, more than 50,000 commuters are using Namma Metro between Biyappanahalli and MG Road and from Sampige Station to Penya Industrial Area every day. With the opening of the new east-west corridor on April end the number of commuters is expected to reach around 2 lakh. BMRCL is expecting the number of commuters to reach at least five lakh per day once the entire Namma Metro phase one is open to the public, he added.
Airport Express is in pipeline:
BMRCL is considering the option of an Airport Express as an integrated part of the Namma Metro Phase two or parallel to the Namma Metro Phase two for which Central government has sanctioned Rs 1500 crore, Kharola informed media.
