After a delay of over six years, the authorities have taken initial steps to integrate Yeshwantpur metro station with the railway station. The metro station, part of the Green Line, was opened for commercial operations in 2014, but was not linked to the railway station.
For years, passengers and activists have been questioning the inordinate delay in integration of the two stations.
On Wednesday, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), in a press release, said that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bengaluru division of South Western Railway (SWR) to provide multi-transit integration facilities.
An 82-metre-long foot-over-bridge (FoB1) will be built to connect the railway station with the concourse of the metro station. The authorities will also build a second 230-metre-long FoB branching out from FoB1 to provide connectivity between the eastern and western sides of the railway station and metro station. This FoB will also help passengers reach island platforms of the railways.
In another move, an additional road entry will be provided to the railway station from the north-west part of the metro station. Other projects include access to the railway station from the Tumakuru –Bengaluru Road, which is currently blocked, multi-storey parking facilities, bus bays for city buses, an auto stand with larger capacity, pick up and drop points for cars, taxis and autos.
The release further stated that the BMRCL consultancy contract has been given for detailed design on a 1,500-metre-long FoB from Sandal Soap metro station to BMTC’s transit and traffic management centre at Yeshwantpur and linking the Indian Institute of Science campus.
The BMRCL is hopeful of providing the facilities by Independence Day 2021.
Rail activists have demanded completion of the work in a time-bound manner.
