JOIN USTBM Helen nears Vidhana Soudha
Tunnel boring machine (TBM) Helen is only 50 metre away from the Vidhana Soudha Metro station even as final word is awaited on shifting the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar in front of the Soudha.
A senior official of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) told Deccan Herald that if the work proceeds at the present pace, Helen will reach the Vidhana Soudha station within 15 days. “While the total length of the tunnel from Central College station up to Vidhana Soudha station is 724 meter, Helen has progressed up to around 670 meter,” he added.
The official said TBM-2 Margarita has progressed up to 426 meter and rocky terrains have slowed the pace of its work. Both these tunnels are part of the underground stretch of the Namma Metro East-West line. In addition, TBM 3, between Cubbon Park and East Ramp, has completed East-bound tunnel and 80 metre of West-bound tunnel, he said.
The passengers will have the facility of vending machines which dish out food and beverages at the Metro stations soon. The Corporation has invited tenders for installation of nine such machines. A senior official of the Corporation said passengers could operate the vending machines either through coins or currency.
“Food items include packaged food like chips, peanuts, chocolates, candies, etc and the list of beverages includes packed water, seal-packed carbonised drinks and packaged juices,” he said.
Another official said, to start with, two vending machines each will be installed at M G Road, Trinity Circle, Halasuru and Indiranagar stations and one at the Baiyappanahalli station. These machines would be placed in the paid areas of the Metro stations to help rail commuters, he added.
Following complaints from passengers on reactivation fee of Rs 20 on their travel card for the balance in Contactless Smart Card (CSC), BMRCL has stated that while the life of the CSC is five years, the value in the stored card is valid for one year and that the reactivation fee is an administrative charge.
A senior BMRCL official said the unused stored value in CSC beyond the validity period shall be available for travel only when the CSC is presented to Excess Fare Office for validity extension. However, in this case administrative charges of Rs 20 will be payable by the passenger, he added.