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Bangalore Metro

It was through the creation of a joint venture- better known as Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited- between the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka that the Bangalore Metro came into existence, just a couple of years ago.

Essentially a rapid transit system catering to the needs of the burgeoning Bangalore population, the Namma Metro (as the metro service in Bangalore is better known as) has simplified traffic movement across the entire length and breadth of the city within a short span of time. 

The inauguration of the city’s metro railway was done on October 20, 2011 when the first metro link from M.G.Road to Baiyyappanahali was opened for public use.

Bangalore Metro

A short background check on Bangalore Metro

What was initially envisioned as a mass transit system based on the PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) Model subsequently got metamorphosed into the standard gauge Namma Metro. The founding project report for this metro network was constructed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and subsequently handed over to the BMRCL in 2003. The ideas that guided the birth of this inventive mass transport scheme were;
  1. Reduced journey times, achieved by the mathematically chalked out metro routes in Bangalore.
  2. Bringing down the use of fuel in private vehicles by a significant margin.
  3. Reducing the enormous number of road accidents occurring in Bangalore on a regular basis.
  4. Lowering pollution by reducing harmful carbon emissions from cars and other private vehicles without having to engage in any bureaucratic procedures to put such vehicles on a leash.

Construction of Bangalore Metro network

Namma Metro Phase I

This was the phase that kick-started the entire metro project in 2006-07 covering a length of 42.3 kilometers on the Bangalore Rail Route Map, the phase I of the project consists of two well defined lines which are further subdivided into 2 underground sections and 4 ‘reaches’.

 Inspite of occasional hiccups that have marred the steady progress of the phase I construction, it is progressing well and all its lines and divisions are expected to be complete by the end of the next year.

Namma Metro Phase II

Estimated total cost Around $4 billion Total length covered Approximately 72 kilometers (58 elevated and 14 underground) Total number of stations 61 (49 elevated and 12 underground). Most of the project report concerning this phase was prepared by the DMRC and it was in early 2012 that an in-principle approval for this phase was obtained from the Karnataka government. 

Two new lines are slated to be added by this phase; besides, it also consists of well designed extensions to all the four reaches of the metro network.

Extensions and new lines for Phase II

According to the Bangalore metro phase 2 route map the Bommasandra RV road connector shall have 16 stations whereas the one connecting Nagavara and Gottigere-IIMB shall have 18; 12 of these are to be underground.

Metro link to the airport

Elaborate plans have been put in place to construct the Bangalore High Speed Rail Link, that shall be a 33 kilometer-long connecting stretch between the Bangalore International Airport (BIA) and MG Road. 

The estimated cost for this project is around US $920 million and the BMRC has been put in charge of accomplishing this ambitious goal. This link shall have a well defined connection with the Bangalore Metro phase 2 also.

Inauguration

It was only after the expiry of a number of inauguration deadlines that the metro service was finally opened for public use in October 2011.  The public response to this inauguration was outright overwhelming as hordes of commuters made a beeline for the metro stations right within the first 3 or 4 days since the start of the operations.

Bangalore metro

The financial aspects of the Namma Metro Network

The phase-wise construction of the metro network was supposed to lower operational expenses significantly however, such an objective never got materialized because of unanticipated constraints which held up the construction work at several points. Both for phase I and phase II of the Bangalore Metro, the initial cost projection escalated rapidly with the passage of time. 

It was only because of the timely interventions of various government agencies that the construction activities could roll on without suffering from frequent inordinate delays.

Even though the metro project suffered massive setback during its early days, the profits that it garnered following the auspicious inauguration in October 2011 were outright gargantuan. The massive public response helped this new found prodigy in Bangalore transport accrue huge revenues to sustain itself.

Facilities in Namma Metro

This Metro network happened to be the first of its kind in the country by virtue of the free Wi-Fi access that it extends to its commuters the Wi-Fi access enables commuters to use mobiles, tablets and even laptops while traveling on the metro.

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