Metro looks good to go

Stations ready, infrastructure in place, waiting only for final clearance

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had, on Thursday, taken a team of journalists to metro stations on Reach-1.

While commuters waiting to travel on the stretch are hoping to do the same at the earliest, given that it only takes about 13.16 minutes for one-way travel on the 6.7-km stretch with a 30-second halt at each station, BMRCL officials are working overtime to make it happen.

The final hurdle preventing Namma Metro from being thrown open to the public, BMRCL spokesperson B L Y Chavan said, is expected to be crossed soon, although it is completely out of BMRCL’s hand.

A tour of the MG Road station revealed the various facilities in place, most of which are aimed at making the experience commuter-friendly. Although only a platform view of the other stations was provided for the journalists, BMRCL said: “The features of all the stations are common.”

The latest look that the MG Road station wears comes as a relief for Bangaloreans who have been worried over the incomplete infrastructure at stations and the depot.
Having already obtained the safety certificate from the Research Design and Standards Organisation, Metro workers were busy giving finishing touches to the stations.

The ticket counters and entry/exit gates at MG Road and Byappanahalli stations are located on the ground floor, while they are on the first floor at other stations. BMRCL officials said even on MG Road, the gates and counters will be on the first floor at the Plaza concourse which should be ready by December.

Noting that there will be eight locopilots-cum-operators manning the main operation control centre (OCC) at Baiyappanahalli, sources said: “The control centre at each station will have one of these men manning it.”

There are a total of 96 such staff who were trained for six months each in two batches by the Delhi Metro, besides a set of customer care managers trained for three months.
From the signage to ticket counters and customer care everything is in place at the stations and the escalators are also ready.

The station will be self-guiding with the tactile floor guides leading to the ticket counters, lifts, stairs or escalators, supplemented by signages in multiple languages and public announcement systems. “We will always have our personnel to also guide, in case there is a need,” the officials said.