Metro debut run only up to MG Road

The much-hyped completion of Reach-1 of the Namma Metro over the next few months is likely to be more a ‘feeler’ than of any genuine use to the commuters, with the run being between Bayyappanahalli and MG Road, and not up to KSCA stadium as planned earlier.

Although the Corporation claims that the piers have been completed at all the 222 locations on the stretch and all girder segments have been cast and segment launching of all girders has been completed, work at Minsk Square, near Chinnaswamy stadium is yet to begin in full flow.

Delay by a month

Besides, with the stretch near the Chinnaswamy stadium being underground, people close to the development say that it will not be operational when Reach-1 is commissioned, after a delay by a months or so.

Plenty of work is left on the stretch with just over 75 per cent of civil work completed at the stations and more than 20 per cent of track laying to go. BMRCL is hoping against hope and maintains that it will meet the December deadline.

Traffic and infrastructure experts in the City say that the reach-1 of metro is just to showcase the product and the real value cannot be conceived until 2013 when the entire phase-1 - Byappanahalli to Peenya - is scheduled to be completed.

Other Reaches

On Reach-2, (Magadi Road to Mysore Road), as many as 893 piles have been completed of the 1,104, 81 of the 241 piers and 612 of the 2,106 segments have been cast.

About 90 per cent of the of piling work is complete on all the stations: Vijayanagar, Hosahalli and Toll Gate, Magadi Road, Deepanjali Nagar and Mysore Road. On Reach-3 (Swastik to Yeshwanthpur), a total of 741 piles out of 961 are complete, 76 piers of the 205 are cast and segments launching of 17 spans are done. About 36 per cent of the work is complete  Kuvempu Road Rajajinagar and Malleswaram stations, while 35 per cent is completed in Yeshwantpur, Mahalakshmi and Soap factory stations.

Reach-3A (Yeshwantpur to Peenya depot) has also gathered significant pace with 211 piles out of 944 complete and 100 segment casting of 1,280 done, while five test piles have been completed on Reach-3B (Peenya Village Station to Hessarghatta Cross Station).

Similarly, 555 piles have been completed out of 588, 95 piers out of 147 and 937 segments out of 1,259 have been casted on Reach-4 (K R Market - R V Road). About 61 per cent, 52 per cent, 39 per cent of work is complete in K R Road, Lalbagh and South End Circle stations, respectively and around 50 per cent of work is completed in RV Road and Jayanagar Stations.

On Reach –4 A (RV road to Puttenahalli cross) three test piles and 44 piles have been completed out of 540, one pile cap of 141 has been completed.