A view of the Madavara metro station, which will be the northern terminal of the Green Line.
DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V
Bengaluru: More than a month after it received statutory clearance, the metro service of the Namma Metro Green Line extension between Nagasandra and Madavar is all set to open on Thursday, November 7, a highly placed source told DH.
The 3.14-km metro stretch is the northern extension of Namma Metro's Green Line. It will expand the Bengaluru metro network to 76.95 km and help alleviate the severe traffic congestion on the arterial Tumakuru Road.
Built at a cost of Rs 298.65 crore, the elevated metro line includes three stations at Manjunath Nagar, Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara. It is the slowest to build in Namma Metro's history, taking 91 months instead of the original 27 months.
The stretch received statutory clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (Southern Circle), AM Chowdhary, on October 4 but its opening was delayed for want of government permissions.
On October 18, Karnataka's Urban Development Department wrote to the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing for permission to operationalise the line, which came after three weeks, on November 5.
According to a statement released by the office of L S Tejasvi Surya, the Bangalore South MP met the Union Minister of housing and urban affairs in Delhi, pushing for the line’s earliest possible inauguration. He also brought the matter to the attention of top officials on Tuesday evening, resulting in Prime Minister Narendra Modi approving the opening, the statement added.
A top official in Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a test run on the new line would take place at 11.30 am on Wednesday with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and other dignitaries in attendance.
"Full commercial operations will begin on November 7, as per the regular schedule (5 am onwards)," the official told DH.
A formal inauguration will take place at a later date, the official said.
On Monday, citizens questioned the delay in opening the line, saying it could have alleviated the severe traffic congestion witnessed on Tumakuru Road as people returned to the city after the long weekend.
Once the entire Green Line becomes operational, trains will run every five minutes during peak hours and 10 minutes during other times, according to the BMRCL