JOIN USMetro ride from Nagasandra to Puttenahalli only in April
It’s now official. The Metro ride from Nagasandra to Puttenahalli will happen only by April next year.
Putting an end to speculation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the entire Metro phase-I will be commissioned by April 2017. Earlier, it was promised to be operational by November 1 this year to coincide with Rajyotsava Day. The chief minister, who held a review meeting of Metro rail projects, attributed the delay to the slow-progressing underground tunnel work.
He said that there had been a “substantial delay” in completing the work. “In the 42-km phase I network, the Metro is not operational on a 11-km stretch, including a 4-km underground line. Work related to tunnelling near Majestic (15 metres), track-laying and signalling is pending. I have directed BMRCL officials to prepare a timeline for the completion of each work. The civil work is expected to be completed by January 2017 and the entire stretch will be commissioned by April next year,” he said.
On connecting the Sampige Road (Malleswaram) and the Majestic Metro stations before April, the chief minister said, “The entire network will be thrown open together.” Nearly 1.8 lakh passengers are using the existing 33-km Metro services every day. It will benefit at least 5 lakh commuters once the entire network is ready, he said. On phase-II of the project, Siddaramaiah said civil work on the Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield and RV Road-Bommasandra lines would start soon. “The Agence Francaise de Developpement, which granted sovereign loan for phase II, is scrutinising the tender documents. The BMRCL will float tenders to take up construction work by the end of this month,” he said.
Metro on Outer Ring Road
Also, the Outer Ring Road (ORR) will have a Metro rail line and not the proposed Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS), Siddaramaiah said. The chief minister said that the government has approved the Metro line between KR Puram and Central Silk Board on the ORR, with an aim to complete the project in two years.
“The government will mobilise resources by leasing out land acquired by BMRCL and through the innovating financing model, which includes premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR), betterment levy, naming rights/advertisement, premium accessways/ramps, airspace commercialisation and additional cess on approval of new projects/developments. Consisting of 13 elevated stations, this 18-km Metro line is expected to cost Rs 3,600 crore,” he said. Siddaramaiah said that the BMRCL would prepare a detailed project report (DPR) by December this year and execute the work in two years. “We will take up Metro project on ORR under phase II (B). Ten lakh people commute on this stretch daily,” he said.