Namma Metro: Connecting Two Major Hubs in Less than 15 Minutes
Posted on 17 Jan 2017
Traffic jams and long hours of wait on the road is something that is not new to Bangaloreans. Post the IT boom the number of commuters using their own transportation has increased quite a lot, subsequently leading to endless line of tail lights, incredibly long hours of commute and the city losing on its charm.
There has been debates over the years on how to solve this recurring problem, from traffic dedicated committees to extension of sign boards and blinkers there’s been a lot of proposed solutions. But the real solution seems to be the Metro Rail service.
Bangalore’s metro rail system is the second largest in India after Delhi Metro, the existing phase 1 of Bangalore Metro system covers a total length of 31.52 km with over 30 stations and with an annual ridership of over 16.8 million people, the metro rail seems to be a true blessing to the ever-surging traffic problem.
With the metro- trains operating almost every 8 minutes, the system has subsequently reduced the commute time by a large margin and has made it a hassle free and enjoyable one. Currently the phase 1 of metro seems to be quite a success even though the launch deadlines were missed repeatedly, the launch has seen a reduction in the traffic and the commute has become much more flexible.
The Phase 2 of the project seems to be more promising with a proposed line between Baiyappanahalli to White field stretching 15.5 km with over 15 stations, this proposed corridor is truly a live saver as the stretch hosts several IT parks and daily commuters to work. The proposed corridor is estimated to reduce the commute time to 8-10 minutes’ contrary to existing 120 minutes of commute.
The work on the extension of roads to accommodate the towering support pillars has already begun. The valuation of 90 percent of property in this stretch has been completed and the work is set to kick-off with the completion of six stations in the first section. The completion of this line could put an end to late login’s and missing scheduled meetings.
A real revelation in the phase 2 project is the proposed ORR Metro stretching over 18kms, this line is being built to connect Outer ring road with Silk board which witnesses maximum traffic as it houses several IT parks. BMRC is already working on several financing techniques to flush in the required 4,202 crores for the project. Discussions are already underway to plan the route, maintenance and the number of coaches that would be required to operate in this stretch.
What does this have in store for us? Upon completion of the line, the decongestion of traffic in this route would reduce subsequently and the traffic nightmares would finally end. This isn’t beneficial just for the daily commuters of the route, but also for the residents of the 3 & 4 BHK luxury apartments in Koramangala and neighbouring areas of Silk board such as Koramangala who travel this route regularly.
With completion of this stretch we could finally witness a commute that’s hassle free.