The hopes of thousands of citizens waiting for years to travel on Namma Metro are pinned on the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) launching operations on the entire North-South corridor in April this year.
However, there is a possibility that Namma Metro might miss the deadline. Work on the North-South section of Kempegowda Interchange Station, scheduled to be completed in December, has been delayed by at least two weeks. According to the latest newsletter published by BMRCL, around 82 per cent of work was completed at the station, one of the country’s largest, in December.
Chickpete and City Market Stations are in advanced stages of completion and should be ready by the end of January. BMRCL is hoping that all the stations will be ready by the time they go for trials in the underground section. “We have left space at Chickpete Station for lowering equipment into the tunnel. Other entrances have been sealed,” said Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director, BMRCL. “We are adding finishing touches to Majestic Station. It will be completed in January.”
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Trials on the entire underground section between Sampige Road and National College will begin by February 10, he said.
The safety clearances would require at least 30 days. In 2016, BMRCL had sought and obtained safety clearance for the underground section of the East-West corridor within a month.
But, in this case, it is unclear how long it will take for trials to conclude before BMRCL applies for safety clearance.“We are targeting an April launch and are confident of achieving it,” Mr. Kharola said.
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Trials on the South Line between National College and Yelachanahalli, which commenced in November, are progressing smoothly, he said.
This leaves just the underground sections between Sampige Road and Kempegowda Station as well as Kempegowda Station and National College.
It is quite possible that trials on the first stretch alone could begin by the end of January to save time, but this could not be confirmed with officials.