Phase 2 Metro, too, will have no bus, rail link

Namma Metro is set to grow further reaching new and far corners of the city. However, it will remain disconnected from other modes of transport which is evident from the location of stations on the Gottigere-Nagawara line.

Phase 1 of Namma Metro, built at a cost of about Rs 14,000 crore with a six-year-delay, has remained isolated without proper connection to other modes of transport at key junctions like Majestic, Yeshwantpur and City railway stations.

“Baiyappanahalli Metro was not linked to the railway station in Baiyappanahalli for three years. It took three years for building the MG Road Metro station’s Church Street entrance. Even today, there is no access to Peenya, Jalahalli and Dasarahalli stations from the other side of NH-4 on Tumakuru Road. BMRCL has continued the same attitude in Phase 2,” said urban transport expert Sanjeev Dyamannavar.

Dyamannavar has written a letter to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) managing director calling for realignment of the proposed Cantonment Metro station to integrate it with the Cantonment railway station.

Pointing out that station locations have been finalised based on availability of land instead of passenger needs, he stated that BMRCL should focus on these problems before pressure mounts on it to finish the project.

“In Phase 2, there is no plan for integration of KR Puram Metro and Railway stations. The Jnanabharathi Metro station also remains disconnected from Jnanabharathi railway station,” the letter states.

‘Nothing is impossible’

However, BMRCL MD Pradeep Singh Kharola said different Metro and railway stations can still be connected with skywalks or subways. “The Cantonment Metro station will be 200 metres away from the railway platform, a subway can connect both. Similarly, the Jnanabharathi station can be connected. Station location depends on multiple factors, from availability of land to the alignment as well as potential connectivity. The present alignment passes through the thickest part of the city. We have to go where people are. Technically and financially, the proposed Cantonment station is more efficient and viable. There are various options to connect the railway station,” Kharola said.

He said there were plans to connect Jnanabharathi and KR Puram railway and Metro stations. “At present, only the stations are finalised. As the project moves forward, we will make sure they are connected to other modes of transport nearby,” he added.