Bengaluru`s extended metro rail service to begin in July
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Service on 7.5km new line on the east-west corridor of the Bengaluru metro rail would commence in July, said Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday.
"Commercial operations on the 7.5-km extended line of the metro rail project will begin in July between Nayandahalli and Kengeri on the city's western outskirts," Yediyurappa told reporters after a ride on the new line.
Revenue Minister R. Ashoka, who accompanied the Chief Minister, said the metro operator was waiting for the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety to inspect and clear the new extended line.
The extended line on the purple line of the Bengaluru Namma Metro service was built at a cost of Rs 1,560 crore by the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), a joint venture of the state and Central governments.
BMRCL has been operating service on the 18-km east-west corridor from Baiyappanahalli to Nayandahalli through the central terminal in the city centre since November 2015.
"The ridership on the east-west corridor will increase to 75,000 commuters a day when service on the extended line is commissioned," said Yediyurappa.
The elevated section of the extended line has 6 stations from Nayandahalli to Kengeri on the Bengaluru-Mysuru route.
"Parking is provided at Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Jnanabharati and 2-level facility at Kengeri bus terminal, with bus bays on both sides of the station," the BMRCL said in a statement.
Fare for travelling 25km from Baiyappanahalli to Kengeri will be Rs 56 and Rs 60 from Kengeri to Silk Institute on the north-south corridor with inter-changing at the Kempegowda metro station in the city centre.
The automatic fare collection system on the extended Line has been installed to enable usage of 'One Nation One Card', as part of the national common mobility card and QR system," said the statement.
Each metro station rooftop has been designed to install 250kilowatt capacity solar power.
"Further extension of the new line from Kengeri to Challagatta is under construction for completion by this year-end," added the statement.
The metro rail service across the east-west and north-south corridors in the city has been suspended since April 27 due to the extended lockdown imposed amid the pandemic's second wave.
