Bengaluru is all set to get three new stretches of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s (BMRCL) Namma Metro in 2023, connecting several areas of the city and making commute easier.
Purple Line
The purple line stretch of the metro from Whitefield to Baiyappanahalli will be operational by February-March 2023, Times Now reported. The trial runs of the same were successfully carried out in October. This stretch will include stops at Mahadevapura, Garudacharpalya, Hoodi Junction, Seetharama Palya, Kundalahalli, Nallurhalli, Sri Sathya Sai Hospital, Pattandur Agrahara, Kadugodi, Channasandra and Whitefield.
Green Line
Meanwhile, the existing green line till Nagasandra is being extended till Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) and is expected to be finished in the coming year. The stretch will have additional stops at Manjunath Nagar, Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara.
Yellow Line
The Electronics City side of the metro is scheduled to be opened to public in June 2023. It connects Bommasandra to the heavily congested Central Silk Board. Stops will be at R V Road, Ragigudda, Jayadeva Hospital, BTM Layout, Central Silk board, Bommanahalli, Singasandra, Electronic City, Bommasandra and several others.
Blue Line
Stretching from the city to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Devanahalli, this line will be 37 kilometres long and form the Blue Line of the Namma Metro, with 19 stations under its belt. It is scheduled to be operational by 2025 only.
READ | By 2041, Bengaluru to have 314 km of metro rail connectivity
What about the Sub-urban Rail Project?
Several Twitter users however also called for suburban rail in the Karnataka capital. “Is the Metro a boon for Bengaluru? Or is it a cross that Bengaluru has to bear forever? It prevented the Suburban Rail from being set up. It prevented the BRTS from being implemented. And finally, it is not delivering a useful network or service,” a Twitter user called Bengaluru Mobility posted.
“Sub Urban and BRTS are so easy to implement and far less cheaper than metro. The government is least bothered. Bengaluru needs multiple options of public transport, not just a metro rail,” another user, Rohith Nambisan, said.
BJP MP for Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya, shared the proposed redesign for Bengaluru Cantonment Railway Station in September end, saying it is a key part of Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project’s Whitefield to Kengeri line. To this, an internet user replied, “Bengaluru Sub urban rail project status? Can you please share the status of the project? @PMOIndia set 40 months target , 6 months passed any progress? I didn’t see even 1% progress how will you achieve the target?”
Sunil Kumar J, another social media user, responded to Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan’s tweet, saying, “Sir, as you are representing Bengaluru as an MP please first fight for enhancing sub urban rail connectivity in & around Bengaluru first. This long distance train are not used daily by us, the pressing need for this city is to diversify our mode of commuting. Pls deliver on this!”
