Reach 2 from Magadi Road to Mysore Road was finally inaugurated on Monday
Metro train
Bengaluru: The Metro Reach 2 between Magadi Road and Mysore Road, a mere 6.8 km stretch, was flagged off from Magadi Road station by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday. But the people can start using the trains only from Wednesday as the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd is still conducting oscillation trials in the underground stretch.
With this, the BMRCL has yet again opened another small stretch for the public, and it is only the third stretch to be cleared in the last 10 years. Another four critical stretches still remain to be completed and Mr Siddaramaiah has set June 2016 as deadline for Phase 1. It will be interesting to see whether BMRCL, which has repeatedly missed schedules over the years, will meet this deadline.
But the Metro is still far from solving the city’s traffic woes. It suffers from lack of point-to-point and last-mile connectivity. Call it lack of vision or soaring real estate prices, except for depots, none of the Metro stations will have parking facilities for Metro users, which will defeat its very purpose. Integration with local transport, like mini-buses and dedicated low-capacity passenger vehicles too is missing.
The state government and BMRCL organised a gala event to mark the inauguration of the Magadi Road-Mysore Road Reach 2 Metro service, but it failed to evoke any enthusiasm among the locals. According to local citizenry, the Metro service does not rate very high as a mode of transportation due to poor access to the state and trouble with last mile connectivity.
The main issue, according to many, is that the route does not connect any important work place or land mark. According to Mr. Narasegowda, a local vendor, Magadi road-Mysore road stretch is well connected by the BMTC buses and the route is hassle free as there are hardly any traffic bottlenecks. “No one knows why this stretch was inaugurated. If we were connected with either Kempegowda Bus terminus or Mysore road Satellite bus stand, we could have used it. Now it will be a tourist attraction,” he said.
Mr. Yathiraj Sannegowda, a MBA student also echoed a similar view point. “Once we get down from this metro station we cannot even catch a BMTC bus to reach any place as buses use the flyover built by BDA. So we need to catch autos. The Mysore road Metro station is poorly designed,” he alleged.
But a few others feel that this Metro service will open up the developmental activities in this area. According to Mr. Rohith Acharya, a resident of VIjayanagar, once the whole stretch of Metro is opened, this service will make Vijayanagar and Govindarajnagar preferred residential areas. “This is a developing area. Now Metro may not get more passengers as it connects just 6 kms. But every one is eagerly waiting for the launch of full fledged service. It will definitely play the role of catalyst of this region. This service will also ensure that people can use Metro to reach West Bengaluru from Mysore road without going to Majestic,” he analyzed.
Incomplete work:
Even though BMRCL claimed that all the works are completed, Mysore road Metro station is yet to be completed. Toilet and other plumbing works are not completed fully. “All the works can be completed within a day. No major works are pending,” said an officer who was present on Monday.
By March-April, the north-south corridor will be complete: George
The western line, Reach 2 starting from Magadi Road to Mysore Road was inaugurated and ‘followed by a mega public function on Monday. But all the euphoria apart, the line will be open to public only from November 18, 4 pm onwards. Managing Director of BMRCL, Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “The commercial commencement of the stretch has been scheduled on November 18 because underground oscillation trial is scheduled on November 17 and hence there is a slight shift in the actual commercial operations. As for the ridership, we expect it to be 20,000 passengers per day.”
The inauguration saw many VIPs making their way to the Magadi station. Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George expressed his happiness over achieving this milestone. He said, “By January, trains will be running from Byappanahalli to Mysore Road. And by March-April expect for two kilometers, the north-south corridor will be complete.”
Making the announcement and revising the deadline of Phase 1 from March 2016, CM Siddaramaiah said, “We will have a commercial Phase 1 by June 2016. The cost of Phase 1 has escalated by Rs 2,000 odd crore. The project today stands at Rs 13,805 crore.”
Elaborating on the work of Phase 2 he said, “The entire cost of Phase 2 is Rs 26,405. French and Japanese firms have already given their nod to assist in Phase 2. Tenders have been called, agencies are ready. In matter of 2-3 months construction for Phase 2 will begin. So by 2020 we will have entire metro network in place which will ease the city traffic in a huge way. We are also looking to have a circular rail around the city.”
Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, “The Prime Minister is keen on center and state working as a team and metro is the example of such work. Phase 2 has been sanctioned and is estimated to be ' 26,405 and both central and state will bear the cost. We have requested BMRCL to expedite the work of Phase 2. Total metro across the country today is 312 km, 620 km is under construction, and thus in future we will have a total of 1,300 km lines of metro in the country.” He further stressed on having proper parking lots for four-wheelers and cycles, integrated model of transport wherein trains and buses are inter-connected.
Deadline pushed again:
It looks like metro is not going to meet the deadline once again. The CM declared that the deadline is set for June 2016 which was initially pushed from December 2015 to March 2016. Although ministers assured that east west-underground stretch will be thrown open by January, sources close to DC said it will take at least six months for the section to start. While Kaveri TBM is still near Balepet, Krishna TBM is yet to start tunneling from Majestic.
This will again take another 4-5 months to complete. The trial requires at least 3-4 months. Now the big question is whether metro be able to reach the new deadline of June 2016 or it has to be postponed even further. A less confident Managing Director of BMRCL assured Deccan Chronicle that the entire Phase 1 will be functional by June 2016 and Reach 4 and 4a might be functional by March – April 2016.
Transport expert M N Sreehari on the other hand predicts that BMRCL will be able to finish by December 2016 only. He says, “I feel it is highly unlikely for them to even finish the Phase 1 by next year June. One TBM is yet to start and going by soil condition of our city, it is quite unlikely. They should have finished the underground section first instead of elevated one. This piece meal work is not going to last for ever. These mega inaugurations are just some drama and diversion.”
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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