Baiyappanahalli terminal ready, officials await PMO nod

The BBMP has started building an approach road to the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal from Mukund Theatre even as approval is awaited from the Centre for opening the country's first air-conditioned train station at Baiyappanahalli.

The South Western Railway (SWR) hopes to get the terminal — which has been ready along with the technically advanced control room for about a week now — inaugurated by the prime minister.

"The facility is ready for commissioning. We are waiting for communication from the railway board, which is coordinating with the prime minister's office," an official in the SWR headquarters told DH.

Meantime, following a letter from the SWR's engineering section, the BBMP has started working on the approach road.

Noting that the four-lane road between Mukund Theatre and Old Madras Road and the rotary flyover at the MS Palya junction proposed by the BBMP would require time, the railways had requested upgrading the existing road on a temporary basis.

The BBMP has begun the work on upgrading the road from Mukund Theatre to the terminal and further to the existing road overbridge that would allow access to Old Madras Road.

"The overbridge at the Kallapalli railway gate is nearing completion and is likely to be commissioned in the next two months," the railways had said in the letter.

Once complete, the bridge will bring major relief to commuters as it will pave the way for the smooth flow of traffic between Old Madras Road and MS Palya. Still, the delay by the state government in providing land for laying a new road from the existing Baiyappanahalli railway station to the new terminal would deprive thousands of commuters easy access between metro and railway stations.