Ahead of inauguration, BMRCL renames six stations in Whitefield-KR Puram line

The BMRCL has decided to rename six stations on the Whitefield-KR Puram metro line, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday.

The new names will reflect the local landmark and the culture of the areas surrounding each station.

Accordingly, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has rechristened KR Pura as Krishnarajapura, Hoodi Junction as Hoodi, Kadugodi as Kadugodi Tree Park, Mahadevapura as Singayyappanapalya, Channasandra as Hopefarm Channasandra, and Whitefield as Whitefield (Kadugodi).

“We have always had a policy that the stations would be named after where they are built,” Anjum Parvez, managing director, BMRCL, told DH. He added that Mahadevapura was renamed as Singayyappanapalya because the station is closer to the latter, but overall, there has not been too much of a change in the names of these six stations.

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Citizens expressed joy that some of the changes were what they had been pushing for over the past few years.

“I am glad they changed Whitefield to Whitefield (Kadugodi) and changed Kadugodi to Kadugodi Tree Park because that solves the confusion with the previous names. It is a big relief that these changes were made,” said Pravir Bagrodia from Whitefield Rising, a community volunteer group.

While a group member applauded the BMRCL’s clarification on the confusing station names, they wondered if there would be some initial confusion among commuters. “It is a good thing that these changes were made before the inauguration and not after, as that might have been disastrous. I only wish local residents of these areas were involved in the process of deciding the station names much earlier,” said Srinivas Alavilli, a citizen activist.

Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the metro line and will also reportedly take a ride on the metro train. The Whitefield-KR Puram line will be open to the public from Sunday.

Ridership

Five six-coach trains manufactured by BEML will run on the line with a frequency of 12 minutes. Two more trains will be kept as back-up, the BMRCL said.

Namma Metro estimates an incremental ridership of 1.5 lakh per day on this line.

According to the BMRCL, feeder and other bus services will operate between KR Pura and SV Road metro stations to help commuters using the existing Purple Line.
The BMRCL has also planned limited two-wheeler parking at all metro stations on this line. Additionally, there will be parking for four-wheelers and two-wheelers at the KR Pura and Whitefield (Kadugodi) metro stations.

The BMRCL further said that service roads with entry/exit had been provided around the stations in both directions, which would serve as BMTC bus stops and multimodal integration points.

At KR Pura and Whitefield stations, foot overbridges will connect metro stations with railway stations. Whitefield Main Road has been widened with three lanes on each side, according to the BMRCL.