'Metro from Baiyappanahalli to KR Puram, Kengeri to Challaghatta will ensure significant reduction in traffic on road'

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: After a long wait, Metro Rail services on two sections of the Purple Line from Baiyappanahalli to K R Puram and Kengeri to Challaghatta commenced its operations without any formal inauguration on Monday, completing metro connectivity between the East and West of Bengaluru.

In a statement, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited said, "BMRCL wishes to inform the public regarding the opening of passenger services on the two sections between Krishnarajapura and Baiyappanahalli, a distance of 2.10 km with one station in between at Benniganahalli and the other beyond Kengeri to Challaghatta a distance of 2.05 km with effect from October 9."

Sandeep Anirudhan, convener of Bengaluru Mobility said, “Now there is a viable corridor as an alternative to road transport throughout the city from east to west. It should result in a significant reduction in traffic on the road.”

He said that ideally the BMTC should provide last mile services at every metro station to cover nearby places within two km radius, so that people need not use private transport even to reach metro stations.

With the opening of these two vital sections, the entire East-West corridor, the Purple Line from Whitefield (Kadugodi) to Challaghatta, will be complete with a total length of 43.49 km and 37 metro stations, it said.

The operational network of BMRCL will increase from 69.66 km to 73.81 km with 66 metro stations, it added. According to BMRCL, the operational headway on EastWest Corridor will be from Whitefield (Kadugodi) to Patandur Agrahara (10 minutes), Patandur Agrahara to Mysore Road (5 minutes), Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station - Majestic to MG Road (3 minutes) during morning peak hours, Mysore Road to Challaghatta (10 minutes).