Metro trial runs on Puttenahalli-Nagasandra stretch from Feb 10

Namma Metro will begin trial runs between Puttenahalli and Nagasandra on the South-North corridor of Phase 1 from February 10, said BMRCL managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola.

He told reporters that Metro began trial runs between Puttenahalli and National College on November 21 and all the facilities on the stretch will be ready within a month.

When reporters pointed out that work at Chickpet station was incomplete, Kharola clarified that the section of the underground stretch had not been covered deliberately.

“We need to transport materials for the remaining work. Materials are lowered through the opening and then moved to the work place,” he added.

He reiterated that work on Phase 1 will be completed by April.

“We need to get a safety certificate after conducting trial runs. We are confident that we will get it at the earliest,” he added. He said Namma Metro was not short of money and added that he was confident of raising the total budget of about Rs 24,000 for Phase 2.

“There have been an in-principle approvals of Rs 3,600 crore funds from European Investment Bank and Rs 3,500 crore from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” he said.