Four years after construction work began in May 2016 and many deadlines later, the 6-km extended Namma Metro line from Yelachenahalli to Silk Institute opened for commercial operations on Friday at 7 a.m.
Ridership on the first day, however, remained low but Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd is expecting this to pick up in the coming weeks. The commercial operations on the extended line is likely to add 75,000 new passengers to pre-COVID-19 ridership.
Residents along the route have been waiting for years for the line to open. “I was expecting it to open last year. I will use it regularly,” said Vivek Krishnan, who lives near Doddakallasandra metro station.
For college students who have started commuting to campuses after classes resumed, the opening of the line has come as a huge relief. “Earlier, I would spend over 50 minutes to reach the college by bus. Now within half an hour, from Basavanagudi I can reach my college using Namma Metro,” said Prajwal, an engineering student.
Social distancing and SoPs
Standard operating procedures like ensuring commuters maintained a physical distance from each other and wore masks were enforced across stations.
The frequency of trains between Yelachenahalli and Nagasandra will be five minutes during peak hours on working days. Commuters will have a longer wait on the Silk Institute and Nagasandra section where peak hour frequency will be 10 minutes. On both sections, the frequency of trains during non-peak hours is 15 minutes, said the BMRCL in a press release.
The last trains depart from Baiyappanahalli and Nagasandra stations at 9 p.m. and from Mysuru Road at 9:05 p.m. The last metro service from Silk Institute is at 8.55 p.m.
Energy efficiency
BMRCL in a press release said that all five stations on the extension Konanakunte Cross, Doddakallasandra, Vajrahalli, Thalaghattapura and Silk Institute will have rooftop solar power with total 1.2 MW capacity. “The installation of the solar power plants is targeted for completion by March 2021. This is the first time Bangalore Metro is establishing the capacity for solar power,” stated the release.
Energy efficient LED lights have been provided at all the new stations, which have bus bays and pickup and drop areas for taxi and autos earmarked on service roads. BMTC is also operating feeder services from the stations.
