Change in Phase 2 to give Metro link to Outer Ring Road

New line between KR Puram, Silk Board to help techies

In a significant move towards giving Metro link to the Outer Ring Road (ORR), the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has decided to modify the design of Phase 2 and make KR Puram and Central Silk Board junction interchange stations.

The changes are intended to accommodate the proposed 18-km new line between KR Puram and Silk Board, which was not earlier part of Phase 2 or Phase 3. A senior BMRCL official confirmed the new development.

In Phase 2, KR Puram is part of the extension of the 15.5-km line between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield. Silk Board is part of the 18.82-km line between RV Road and Bommasandra. Neither was proposed to be an interchange station in the earlier scheme of things.

The BMRCL has proposed to build additional platforms and portals at the two stations. “The commuters would be able to get down at these stations and travel on another line of their choice,” a senior official said.

That means, people can get down at Silk Board and travel on the RV Road-Bommasandra line. Similarly, they can alight at KR Puram and travel up to Whitefield or Kengeri.

The Karnataka government had announced the new line at Invest Karnataka this year following demand from local elected representatives and corporate firms. The new line is expected to help IT professionals working in technology parks on the Outer Ring Road. The BMRCL recently floated a tender for topographic, land and property survey for the new line.

Estimated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, the line will have all elevated stations passing through traffic-prone areas such as HSR layout, Sarjapur Road, Bellandur, Kadubeesanahalli and Marathahalli.
 
R K Mishra, a member of Bengaluru Vision group, who is pushing the project at the government level, expressed confidence that the new line on the ORR would be a reality. “It is possible to complete the work quickly as this particular line does not involve land acquisition. It does not have to follow the schedule of Phase 2 either, except the completion of two connecting stations,” he told Deccan Herald.

The BMRCL will, however, have to provide enough space and infrastructure for Metro trains moving towards KR Puram from Silk Board and vice versa to cross through at the intersecting stations during the construction period.