The eagerly anticipated trial run on the Baiyyappanahalli-Whitefield stretch of the Purple Line of Namma Metro in Bengaluru was carried out by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Friday, October 21.
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According to BMRCL, the trial run was carried out on the 3.5-km stretch between Whitefield depot unloading line and Pantandur Agrahara (ITPL).
Last week, Namma Metro had transported coaches from Baiyyappanahalli to Whitefield depot. Also, senior officials from various departments had carried out a motor trolley inspection of the rail infrastructure from Whitefield to Garudacharpalya metro stations.
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BMRCL officials transported coaches from Baiyyappanahalli depot for the trial run on October 13, 2022.
The trial was scheduled for September, but was pushed to October following incessant rain that posed a hurdle to completion of the pending work on the extended Purple Line, especially construction of the Whitefield depot.
The 15-km line up to Whitefield is an extension of the Kengeri–Baiyyappanahalli Purple Line, which is operational. The opening of this line is expected to help lakhs of people living in various residential areas in Whitefield. Once the entire Purple Line is operational, people would be able to travel from Kengeri, in the western part of the city, to Whitefield in the eastern end.
The train for the trial run being readied, in Bengaluru on Friday, October 21.
The BMRCL began work on this stretch, where 13 stations have come up, in 2016-17. It missed multiple deadlines owing to factors such as delay in acquiring land, changes in alignment, especially near Tin Factory, to accommodate the ORR-airport line, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a steep rise in steel price owing to the Russia-Ukraine war.