Metro Rail extension approved

Metro Rail extension approved

B.S. Ramesh
In the north, it will be Hessarghatta Cross, and south, Banashankari
BMRCL does not see any hitch in completing Byappanahalli-cricket stadium section

Travel time between Yeshwanthpur-R.V. Road Junction is expected to be 28 minutes

BANGALORE: The board of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has approved the extension of the Namma Metro project that is coming up in Bangalore city.

The board, at its recent meeting, agreed to extend the metro from Yeshwantpur to Hessarghatta Cross and from R.V. Road Junction to Banashankari (Jaragennahalli).

Five schedules
Slated to be taken up in five schedules, BMRCL wants the Byappanahalli-Cricket Stadium (KSCA) segment to be completed first (by March 2010) Yeshwanthpur-Swastik by November 2010, underground section by October 2011, City Railway Station-Mysore Road section by October 2011 and City Market-R.V. Road Junction by December 2011.

The project would comprise two corridors east-west and north-south. The east-west corridor will be 18.1 km in length and will start at Byappanahalli (NGEF Complex) and terminate at Mysore Road. It would cover Indiranagar, CMH Road, Swamy Vivekananda Road, M.G. Road, Ambedkar Road, Post Office Road, K.G. Road, Majestic, KSRTC Bus Stand, Bangalore City Railway Station, Magadi Road, Tool Gate, Chord Road, Vijayanagar, Mysore Road up to Ring Road Junction.

The north-south corridor would start at Yeshwanthpur and terminate at Jayanagar. It would cover Chord Road, Mahakavi Kuvempu Junction, Swastik, Platform Road, KSRTC Bus Stand, Chickpet, City Market, K.R. Road, Vani Vilas Road, Lalbagh, R.V. Road, South End Circle and Jayanagar.

While the main depot-cum-workshop for the east-west corridor is planned at Byappanahalli, for the north-south corridor, the depot is slated to be set up at Yeshwanthpur.

No major hitches
Meanwhile, BMRCL says the commissioning of the Byappanahalli-cricket stadium line would depend on how fast work was taken up on constructing a workshop and depot at the NGEF Grounds.

With the Government just having issued a final notification for acquiring NGEF land, BMRCL now sees no major hitches in completing this section.

The Metro project, with all the reaches, is expected to cost Rs. 6,395 crore.

When completed, the metro would reduce travel time from Byappanahalli to Mysore Road from the current two hours to 30 minutes.

Similarly, the distance from Yeshwanthpur to R.V. Road Junction could be covered in 28 minutes against the present two hours.

On its part, the Government says that it had set out 151 milestones for the successful completion of the project, and of this, 27 milestones have been achieved.

The Government still hopes that the project, despite facing hitches, would become operational by December 2011.