Whitefield metro closer than ever, receives CMRS clearance

Whitefield’s metro dream is closer than ever.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said on Tuesday that it had received clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) for the 13.71-km line that will serve the city’s eastern suburbs notorious for traffic congestion.

BMRCL boss Anjum Parwez told DH that they had received clearance from the CMRS with “a few observations”. Asked about the launch of commercial operations, he stated that the date hadn’t been finalised.

Parwez had earlier said that the BMRCL would need about 10 days for compliance if the CMRS made any recommendations.

While he didn’t specify the observations made by the CMRS, a BMRCL official said that the CMRS had asked for following the statutory standard operating procedure (SOP).

On Tuesday, the BMRCL boss and a host of officials spent time in Whitefield, holding discussions on making the line ready for commercial operations.

While some work is still pending at the 12 metro stations that dot the KR Puram-Whitefield line, Parwez had earlier exuded confidence that all of it would be completed in time for commercial operations.

The line may be inaugurated on March 11 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be in Karnataka that day for a host of events in Dharwad and Mysuru.

The 1.54-km section between KR Puram and Baiyappanahalli will open in June.

BMTC feeder bus services

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will run feeder bus services to connect the 12 metro stations with the surrounding areas, an official said.

The BMTC currently runs 46 schedules or 638 trips a day to Whitefield, ITPL and Channasandra from SV Road and Baiyappanahalli metro stations. Some of these bus services will link KR Puram and other new metro stations. Additional bus services will be run to link unserved areas.

This apart, the BMTC runs 123 bus schedules on the Whitefield route, running nearly 1,000 trips both ways.

12 stations

Whitefield, Channasandra, Kadugodi, Pattandur Agrahara, Sadaramangala, Nallurahalli, Kundahalli, Sitharamapalya, Hoodi Junction, Garudacharpalya, Mahadevapura and KR Puram.