Bengaluru
The much-awaited R.V. Road to Bommasandra Metro line (19 km), which will connect Electronic City, is set to start operations in December 2023, according to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
The Yellow Line of the metro is expected to cater to lakhs of commuters and decrease traffic on the stretch as it connects south Bengaluru to the southeastern parts of the city.
Speaking to The Hindu, BMRCL MD Anjum Parwez said, “The 19 km Rashtriya Vidyalaya (RV) Road-Bommasandra Line of Namma Metro will be opened by December this year for commercial operation in one go. This will benefit lakhs of commuters, especially people who are working in IT/BT companies on the stretch.”
He said metro ridership would cross 10 lakh per day once both the lines become operational. The BMRCL has completed around 99% of the civil work on the stretch.
Civil work in progress on Yellow line (April 2023)
To open in one go
Earlier, the BMRCL had planned to open the stretch in two phases: first between Central Silk Board and Bommasandra and another phase between R.V. Road and Central Silk Board. “The earlier plan has been shelved and we will open the whole stretch in one go so that the ridership will increase,” Mr. Parwez added.
In this stretch, for the first time, the BMRCL is building a road-cum-rail flyover from Ragigudda to Central Silk Board. The stretch is fully elevated with 16 stations, while the R.V. Road station is the terminal station on the city side, where an interchange is being provided on the Green Line. Jayadeva Hospital station will serve as another interchange station with the Pink Line, while Silkboard station will be the other interchange station between Yellow Line and Blue Line in the future.
Helpful for tech corridor
The Yellow Line will benefit many of the techies working in the Bommasandra industrial area, HSR Layout, Electronics City, and Beratena Agrahara (Hosa Road).
Manoj Sekhar, a techie working in Electronics City, who travels to his office from BTM Layout, said, “The Yellow Line will benefit the techies working in Electronics City and other areas on the stretch. I have been travelling to the office for more than one hour, to and from every day in my office cab. If the metro will open in December, this will make our life easier.“
Stations on the Yellow line
Prasanth Nayak, a resident of Bommanahalli, was sceptical of the metro keeping with the deadline.
“If BMRCL opens the stretch at the end of this year, it is good. However, in Jayadeva Hospital station, the work doesn’t seem to be happening at a speed that is expected to meet the deadline of December month. It is already creating a traffic bottleneck. The BMRCL has to speed up the work. The Yellow Line is much awaited in Bengaluru since most people working in Electronics City can commute easily to the metro from any part of the city. This will also likely reduce office cabs and personal vehicles used on this stretch,” Mr. Nayak added.
At present, a 69.66-km metro line is operational in the city. Between 2011 and 2018, the BMRCL operated 42 km of metro lines under Phase I. Under Phase II, only 13 km of metro lines were opened to the public in 2021: Silk Institute to Yelachenehalli on the Green Line and Mysuru Road to Kengeri under the Purple Line.
Under Phase II, the BMRCL is building a network of 72 km, which includes Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara, with a 14-km tunnel network. Another 55 km metro line under Phase II A and B is under construction from Central Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport via K.R. Puram, Nagawara, and Hebbal.
