Metro’s new extended Green Line overtakes Purple Line

Metro’s new extended Green Line overtakes Purple Line
Namma Metro’s Green Line (Nagasandra-Mantri Square on Sampige Road) is witnessing increased footfall ever since the operation was extended from Peenya Industrial area to Nagasandra.

The 2.5-km addition has not only meant increased revenue for the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), it has also helped the one-year-old line overtake the ridership of the four-year-old Purple Line (MG Road-Baiyappanahalli).The new extended Green Line — from 10.5 km to 13 km — became operational in March this year.

Prior to the extension, the ridership on the Green Line was lower than the 6.7-km Purple Line, even though it was much longer. BMRCL officials claim the line has witnessed an increase of more than 6,000 passengers daily. So now, the daily ridership on the Green Line is 25,000-30,000 and 20,000-25,000 on the Purple Line.

“There is an increase in the occupancy rate on the stretch between Nagasandra and Mantri Square. The operation has benefited more passengers and an additional 6,000 passengers have started using the metro now. We are hoping that the number of passengers sees an increase in the the coming days,” UA Vasanth Rao, BMRCL PRO, told Bangalore Mirror.

BMRCL maintains a frequency of 10 minutes between 8 am to 10 pm and a frequency of 15 minutes during other times on both the lines. When the metro was launched on Tumkur Road, a 10-km stretch, authorities had expected an average of 50,000 passengers to use the metro every day, but that did not happen.

However, the ridership is gradually increasing on the stretch. But there are hiccups. Passengers have been complaining that they face a lot of problems to reach the metro stations located on Tumkur Road.

Right now, passengers have to risk their lives while jaywalking on the road to reach the stations.

Though there is a proposal to construct subways to connect the metro station at Nagasandra, Dasarahalli and Jalahalli, work has not started yet.

“The tender process is on. After finalising the bid process, we will start the work at the identified places,” Rao said.

With the underground stretch (Cricket Stadium-Magadi Road) connecting east-west corridors of the metro to become operational soon — trial run is expected to begin in September — the BMRCL is hoping more people will take to the metro.

Plan to start an underground stretch to connect the north-south corridors (Sampige Road-National College) is still on the back-burner. Work was supposed to begin by March 2016, but a lot of technical snags in carrying out tunneling work is delaying the project.

Read: Metro Green Line flatters to deceive
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