Metro experienced a high in 2017 with commencement of operations on the entire Phase I and a significant increase in the number of commuters. There was promise in the air at the beginning of 2018.
However, the city’s ambitious commuter project hit the headlines often for the wrong reasons from strike calls by employees to hurdles in construction of Phase II, and repairs to the relatively new infrastructure.
These glitches came at a time when the number of people shifting to the metro was in the rise. In the midst of these setbacks, ridership touched an all-time high on October 17 when close to 4.50 lakh people travelled in the metro on a single day.
Hiccups and cancelled tenders
BMRCL has had a bad year when it came to their projects taking off. The Outer Ring Road metro line from K.R. Puram to Silk Board junction hit a roadblock recently when BMRCL was forced to cancel the tender process after the lowest bidder IL&FS got embroiled in a financial crisis.
Earlier this year, tenders floated for the 13.5-km underground section from Nagavara to Gottigere was cancelled after bidders submitted quotes much higher than the amount estimated by BMRCL. This line would eventually connect to the Kempegowda International Airport.
Later, the airport line faced hurdles, and had to be realigned.
These setbacks raised questions about the planning by the BMRCL for the project which is touted as the panacea for the city’s traffic woes.
Namma Metro work in progress near BTM Layout flyover.
Operational problems
Existing operations too were not without their share of glitches, particularly technical ones that led to several disruptions. The major disruption happened nearly two weeks ago when BMRCL cancelled its normal schedule for several hours after a ‘honeycomb formation’ (concrete distress) was detected in a pillar near Trinity station. This fault in construction is expected to be rectified by the end of the year.
Earlier in February, BMRCL's Employee Union called for an indefinite strike demanding pay parity, among other demands. The matter reached the Karnataka High Court, which directed dialogue. The discussions ended in a deadlock with BMRCL citing poor financial health for not increasing salaries. The High Court intervened again, and the union has deferred its strike call.
Record ridership
Amidst all this, there were some highs. Ridership continued to climb, touching 4.49 lakh in a day in October. The introduction of the first six-coach train in June came as a relief to commuters. At present, BMRCL is operating three six-coach trains. The company has set March 2019 as the deadline to increase this number to 25.
Heli-taxi service from Electronics City to KIA launched.
BMTC goes nowhere
It’s been a tough year for the city’s prime mode of public transport: Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). The corporation lost an estimated 4-5 lakh passengers to the metro and taxi aggregators.
New buses were inducted, but the numbers did not match expectations even as the existing fleet ages and stalls.
Plans for a common mobility card remains on paper.
The initiative to distribute smart cards for students through online route led to chaos, with thousands having to wait for hours at bus stands for their cards. The BMTC took more than a month to distribute the cards.
Elevated yes, suburban struggles
In 2017, citizens forced the government to scrap a steel flyover project, a 6.7-km elevated road from Hebbal to the Central Business District.
Undeterred, both the previous Congress and the current Congress-JD(S) governments have pushed for a 102-km elevated corridor project that criss-crosses the city.
In November, the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led cabinet gave its nod for the project, which is likely to cost ₹25,495 crore. The coalition government had sanctioned ₹100 crore for the project in the budget. So far, the plan is on paper, but considering the build-up of opposition to the project, 2019 may see citizens come to the streets again or take the legal route.
In further disappointment to activists seeking ‘sustainable’ public transport options, progress on the suburban rail network is limited to an exchange of letters between the Railways and the State government. The project aims to utilise existing railway lines for local commute.
A Special Purpose Vehicle to execute the project is yet to be formed. Considering the amount of work necessary to kickstart the project, the network is unlikely to be operational in the near future.
