PM to flag off KR Puram-Whitefield metro line

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The much-awaited KR Puram-Whitefield Namma Metro line is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 and the commercial operations will begin the next day. This route is an extension of the purple line from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield, built under Phase II of the project. The total length of the line is 15 km.

The 1.54-km section between Baiyappanahalli and KR Puram has been delayed because of the placement of an open web girder across the railway line at Benniganahalli. To connect these dots, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will run feeder buses from Baiyappanahalli to KR Puram. Five trains will run on the KR Puram-Whitefield metro with a 12-minute headway.

The travel time from KR Puram to Whitefield will be 25 minutes and the fare will be Rs 35. Along with this, only a single platform will be initially operational at the Mahadevapura (Singayyanapalya) Metro Station. People will have to use the same platform to travel in both directions.

Ashwin Mahesh, an activist, has questioned the hurry to inaugurate. “Desperate rush to open Whitefield metro line before elections. There will be a gap of 2 km in the line, which will be filled by BMTC shuttles. And in one station, trains will be using the same platform for going in both directions. This sounds like an invitation to chaos and risk,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Apparently all this is only for three months, by which time the gap will be filled and the second platform will also be ready. For just 90 days, we're taking on these ad hoc choices? Why not just finish the job properly and open a well-run service instead?” he added and noted that BMTC will almost certainly pull its bus services from elsewhere, disrupting the level of service on other routes.

“The bus company is already short of 8,000 and more buses for the services it needs to run. All for a few weeks and an early announcement?” he questioned.