Complete Metro network by 2012
The traffic-weary Bangaloreans need to wait only till September 2012 for a breezy ride on the entire network of the Namma Metro. And what’s more, take a train every four minutes.
In an affidavit filed in the Karnataka High Court, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has committed to get the entire network ready by that month.
The affidavit was filed in response to a petition by a private company, Messrs Logwell Forge Ltd, which had sought a stay on the opening of financial bids and the award of contract to procure fastening equipment.
BMRCL urged the court to dismiss the petition as it did not want the project to be obstructed.
Pollution-free ride
The project is aimed at mass public transport and creating a pollution-free atmosphere.
“The project, consisting of seven underground stations, will be commissioned by September 2012. On completion, train service will be provided at an interval of four minutes initially, and it will be reduced to three minutes in due course,” the affidavit said.
The completed network will include two corridors, one running east to west connecting Mysore Road and Deepanjali Nagar, and the other, the north-south corridor connecting Yeshwanthpur and Jayanagar. The travel time from one corridor to another will range between 28-30 minutes with a carrying capacity of 40,000 peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT).
Promising that the project would provide comfortable, quick, safe, economical and pollution-free transport at an affordable cost, the corporation said initially — during the year 2011 — the Metro will ferry 10 to 20 lakh passengers. This will be increased to 19.72 lakh by 2021.
The Bangalore Metro, the corporation told the court, was initiated to decongest the City traffic by providing a public transport system. The project weaves through the bustling commercial and residential areas of the City covering a distance of about 33 km. BMRCL informed the court that the project, with an outlay of Rs 6,395 crore, was time-bound, and any delay in its implementation would escalate costs. Justice Ajit Gunjal, heard the matter.
