Metro: Dead lines, down under

Namma Metro, once touted as the panacea for all our urban commute woes, is over a year away from a full-fledged launch.

But that’s old story, as old as December 2012, when its first phase was originally scheduled for completion. The big question now is: Have lessons been learnt from the initial mistakes, as plans for the second phase kick off?

Multiple flaws in station design, work scheduling and planning have slowed down the first phase. The underground tunneling work is hit by unforeseen hard rock obstacles, the Majestic interchange work is in slow motion and the poorly designed stations have no space for parking!

If the interchange station work was the toughest task, why wasn’t it taken up first? Why weren’t the tunneling operations launched from Majestic outwards? And critically, why was work on the Reach from KR Market to Puttenahalli Cross launched without foreseeing a way to take the trial trains there?

Civil works on this reach had been completed a long time ago. The stations too were almost ready for commercial operations. But since no Metro sheds were located on the Southern end, and the Majestic interchange was incomplete, trains couldn’t be taken there. Ferrying the racks by road was no option either.

Idling equipment, investment

So, what have you? “A Rs 3,000-crore investment on that stretch has been just idling, without generating any revenue for the Metro. Costly equipment are idling there too, exhausting their warranty periods. Now, BMRCL (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited) complains that it has no funds for even Phase 1 completion,” points out urban commute analyst Sanjeev Dyamannavar.

But BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola insists that the work has gone as per plan and attributes the delay to the Chickpet-Majestic tunneling problems. “The underground work on this stretch has been extremely slow due to the difficult surface. It was to be completed in the middle of last year. In any case, the North side tunnel will reach Majestic in April 2015,” he explains.

Kharola is certain that the first phase will be operational in December 2015. He informs, “The Peenya-Nagasandra stretch will be thrown open to the public in February. Trial runs will begin on the Magadi road – Mysore Road stretch in the first week of March. Around November, we plan to operationalise the entire stretch from Mysore Road to Baiyappanahalli.”

It has been two years since the 6.5 km MG Road – Baiyappanahalli stretch was opened. Many wonder why BMRCL chose not to open the stations for advertisements and earn much-needed revenue during this period. Kharola contends that ad revenues are indeed coming in from the display boards put up on the pillars.

Inadequate footfalls

Commercial exploitation of spaces within the stations will have to wait, insists the BMRCL MD. “There are not enough footfalls now. Auctioning those spaces will generate very low rates. The rates depend on the footfalls. Besides, we will have to commit for long periods, may be 10 years,” he reasons. Indeed, footfalls would pick up only when commuters are ensured  seamless travel to Majestic.

Metro insiders agree that if the tunnelling works had been taken up first, the extended timeline could have been absorbed in the project time span. Issues such as these could now be serve as lessons for the Phase 2. However, as Dyamannavar points out, the initial signs are not encouraging.

For instance, take the extension of the Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield line under the second phase. “If they had already planned to extend this line, why was the alignment diverted completely off Old Madras road towards Baiyappanahalli and the height reduced to the ground level. They could have continued on Old Madras Road with another line headed to the depot. Now the line has to be elevated again en route to KR Puram and beyond,” he reasons.

Design shortcomings

Design flaws in Phase 1 stations are primarily linked to lack of parking for commuter vehicles and bus bays for BMTC. This has emerged as a big challenge for inter-modal connectivity, critical to the eventual success of a Metro. The BMRCL topbrass had earlier assured to set right these anamolies in the phase 2 station plans.

There are other issues related to linkages. A bridge between the Yeshwantpur railway and Metro stations is a crying need. But it has been a non-starter for want of interest from both sides. Says a long-time observer of rail transport: “By blocking an important entry point, you are preventing a big mass of railway passengers from getting into the Metro. If the two services, which are so close to each other, are linked, at least 200 to 300 additional passengers will come. The traffic will grow substantially later.”

The first phase design also faced problems of inadequate road-crossing points for commuters. BMRCL called tenders for a subway on the Yeshwantpur side at a cost of Rs 10 crore, only after the stretch was commercially operational. The Plaza concourse at the MG Road station was also opened to the public after much delay.

Delays and cost

Phase 1 delays have obviously led to cost escalation. But this could have a cascading effect on the second phase too. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a key source of funding for the first phase, could ask tough questions before investing. JICA’s deputy chief representative, Ichuguchi Tomohide had recently told this newspaper that the agency would insist on completion of the first phase before funding the next phase.

The Union Cabinet had approved the Phase 2 in January 2014 at 2011-12 price levels. With the dollar getting costlier, the actual project cost has also moved upwards. The Centre’s approved cost for the phase was Rs 26,405 crore with a price escalation of five per cent per annum. The overall cost has gone up by more than Rs. 1,000 crore. It could move even higher unless BMRCL moves faster to fully operationalise the first phase at least by the year-end as promised.