‘Peenya–Swastik metro a month away’

Commercial operations likely to begin by month-end or early February

January 02, 2014 12:24 am | Updated November 17, 2021 04:52 am IST - BANGALORE:

Another step: Officials conducting oscillation and emergency braking distance trials on the Namma Metro stretch between Peenya and Sampige Road. — File photo

Another step: Officials conducting oscillation and emergency braking distance trials on the Namma Metro stretch between Peenya and Sampige Road. — File photo

Travel time between Peenya and Swastik theatre in Malleswaram, close to Majestic, will soon be drastically reduced, from the present 60 minutes by bus during peak hours, to about 20 minutes when the metro begins operations.

During the recently concluded oscillation and emergency braking distance trials conducted by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) operated metro trains at 90 kmph on this stretch, which makes up reaches 3A and 3B of Namma Metro.

BMRCL managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “We reached Sampige Road metro station [behind Swastik theatre] in just eight minutes. With nine one-minute stops en route nine metro stations and the permissible commercial speed [which will be less than the actual maximum speed], the journey is likely to take about 18 to 20 minutes.”

Mr. Kharola told The Hindu that RDSO personnel did not seek further clarification and felt they were satisfied with the trials. They might take about two weeks to consolidate the test results and issue the speed certificate, paving the way for the safety trials by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety, he said.

BMRCL is hopeful of commencing commercial services by this month-end or February first week if everything goes as planned, Mr. Kharola added.

Although commuters can reach Swastik in 20 minutes from Peenya, getting to Majestic from there will not be as quick or easy. With existing traffic bottlenecks, it might take another 20 minutes to reach Majestic, the present public transport hub of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the Railways, which is just about 800 m from Swastik.

BMTC managing director Anjum Parvez said the corporation was not planning to introduce any feeder services connecting metro stations with the bus network.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B. Dayananda told The Hindu that BMRCL authorities were yet to approach the Bangalore traffic police on the issue. “As and when they approach us, we will devise plans,” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.