Metro services on Baiyappanhalli section resume

Namma Metro services on MG Road-Baiyappanahalli section resumed on at 11.25 am on Sunday, ending hours of inconvenience caused to thousands of passengers.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had suspended the services on the section citing 'regular maintenance'. An official had later said that a bearing near Indiranagar metro station needed to be replaced to prevent further damage.

From 9.30 pm on Saturday, train services were terminated at MG Road station, from where trains towards Mysore Road were run. Though BMRCL had given prior information about the suspension, confusion prevailed among passengers who had to make alternative arrangements to travel between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli.

Officials said the night long work concluded in the morning following which trials were done on the section before starting the regular revenue services.

However, commuters who came to the metro stations on the stretch at 8 am in the morning had to return disappointed as the security guards informed them about the suspension of services.

For those arriving in trains to the city in the morning hours, unavailability of metro services was a huge inconvenience. A metro official said several passengers at Kempegowda Metro Station at Majestic turned away after realising that there were no services to Baiyappanahalli.

Meanwhile, confusion also prevailed over the bus services deployed on MG Road-Baiyappanahalli section by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). Many passengers had assumed that the bus services were free and an arrangement made by metro authorities to compensate for the suspension of metro services.

“We had trouble with passengers who refused to pay for the tickets, insisting that it was a free service. Some of them got down from the bus after realising they have to buy a ticket,” a conductor said.

In December 2018, BMRCL had hired buses from BMTC to provide free service between Cubbon Park and Baiyappanahalli. “It is the duty of the metro authorities to provide alternative arrangements to commute on the stretch,” Basavaraj Lingaiah, a commuter, said.