Yellow Line brings crowd surge and chaos to Majestic

Bengaluru: With the Yellow Line now operational, metro stations across the city have seen a rise in footfall, but the heaviest rush is concentrated at Majestic, a key interchange hub for commuters. 

Majestic has always been busy during peak hours with IT employees, students and other office-goers. However, since the Yellow Line’s launch, the crowd from Kadugodi has surged, heading towards Silk Board Junction in the mornings and returning towards the late half of the day.

The congestion peaks when trains from Kadugodi and RV Road arrive simultaneously in the evenings. 

Regular commuters raised concerns about the increasing crowd at the station over the past few days. 

“Two days ago, the rush was such that people overflowed onto the escalator, and I ended up falling off it towards the end. And even after I fell, people pushed me. Thankfully, some students helped me. The security guards are barely visible in this crowd,” said 29-year-old Ranjini, who travels by metro from Halasuru to Attiguppe for work every day. 

Commuters also shared that the crowd had added to longer waiting time. “The metro trains towards Majestic from Whitefield were always full during peak hours, but ever since the Yellow Line opened, the crowd has become horrible. We can barely enter the trains, let alone stand,” a regular commuter said. 

Newer commuters find it even more difficult — confused by the layout of the Majestic metro station. 

“I have only started using the metro on Monday to get to my office in Jayanagar. The layout of the Majestic station is so confusing, and the overflowing crowds only make it worse. On Wednesday, I almost had a panic attack as I wasn’t able to figure out my way out of the station,” said Shubhashini, 22. 

The Majestic station opened in 2016 and has a floor surface area of 5.2 lakh square feet, or nine times the size of a football field.