Bangalore looks forward to Metro Rail

Bangalore looks forward to Metro Rail
Nupur Basu, NDTV

The Karnataka cabinet's nod to build a Metro Rail Project for Bangalore at the cost of Rs 6207 crore has enthused citizens and industry.

"We'll have two metro corridors, spanning a length of 36 km of which 7 km will be underground," said K N Srivastava, MD, Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL).

"This project is being jointly promoted by government of India and government of Karnataka, with an equity of Rs 900 crore each," he added.

Infrastructure issues

The new project comes as good news, given that the city has grown at a phenomenal pace in the last two decades and one of the major problems has been the mounting traffic.

"Infrastructure has been one of the key bottlenecks in terms of the expansion and the extent of the IT industry in Bangalore," said Akanksha Pundir Sachdeva of NASSCOM.

"We have been working towards getting the right infrastructure in place to drive FDI into India and Bangalore. This is certainly a step in the right direction," he added.

Speedy action

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Bangalore is said to have set the Metro Rail debate in motion again.

That was reflected in the budget, which in turn ensured there was no further dilly-dallying on this matter.

"It will take five years to complete the project but we will start train operation after three and half years," Srivastava said.

With 25 lakh vehicles plying on Bangalore's roads, the city was crying out for a decent public transport system, and the Metro Rail fulfils that wish.