Metro speed upped on Purple line

The travel time between Byappanahalli and Mysuru Road by Namma Metro has come down by three minutes from September 18 with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) gradually increasing the speed of the Metro train from 25 kmph to 35 kmph.

BMRCL hopes to reduce the travel time by five minutes in the coming days to increase frequency of trains. Initially, the time taken to travel from Byapanahalli to Mysuru Road was 38 minutes with an average speed of 25 kmph. Now, the speed has been increased to 35 kmph on the elevated and underground stretches and  the travel time has come down to 35 minutes.

The speed of the train can be increased up to 60 kmph and even 90 kmph on the Purple as well as Green lines. However, it is mandatory to maintain a travel time of one minute between two stations. “As per standards, the time taken to travel 18.2 km from Byappanahalli to Mysuru Road on the Purple line can be brought down to 33 minutes. So, on the Purple line, speed is gradually being increased to 45 kmph,’’ U A Vasanth Rao, BMRCL general manager (Finance) and chief public relations officer told DH.

The speed of the trains is being increased gradually and the pilots trained to manage speed. At present, average speed on both purple and green lines ranges from 30 kmph to 35 kmph.

The speed drops to 25 kmph to 30 kmph at elevations. Rao explained that the speed can be increased where there are no curves. The speed is less at steep turns near Cubbon Road and Indiranagar Metro stations. The speed can’t be increased because of the angles, he added.

As the Green line is a new track, BMRCL has not increased the speed on this route. It takes 45 minutes to travel 24 km on the  Green line. “We will start increasing the speed gradually, once the stretch between Mantri Mall and Majestic is connected,” Rao said.