The metro has finally reached Whitefield, a remote village transformed into a tech hub. At 69.66 km, Bengaluru now has the second largest metro network in India, second only to Delhi.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 13.71-km metro line between Whitefield (Kadugodi) and KR Pura in eastern Bengaluru. Citizens will be able to ride the Whitefield metro on Sunday, from 7 am to 11 pm. Trains will run from 5 am to 11 pm on weekdays, starting on Monday.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) hopes 1.5 lakh people will travel by the Whitefield metro every day. The number will rise up to 3 lakhs or more when the 2.1-km line from KR Pura to Baiyappanahalli opens in June. The Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield stretch is an extension of the Purple Line, which currently runs for 25.6 km from Kengeri to Baiyappanahalli.
Modi arrived at the Whitefield metro station at around 12:50 pm and spent the next few minutes touring the facility. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan, Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali, Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department) Rakesh Singh and Namma Metro boss Anjum Parwez accompanied him.
Modi visited a photography gallery on the station premises before heading to the ticket counter. He symbolically launched the Rupay National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) by using it to pay for the ticket. He then took the escalator to the platform and boarded a train to the Sri Sathya Hospital metro station, 4.4 km away. He returned by the same train.
About 100 people accompanied him on the round trip that lasted 27 minutes. Among them were schoolchildren, train crew members and workers who constructed the metro line. Except for Doordarshan and All India Radio, no media organisation was invited to the event.
B L Yashavant Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, said ridership on the Whitefield metro would rise gradually. "Ridership will be unpredictable in the first few days. We'll get a clearer picture in a month," he told DH.
Missing link
Some people criticised the metro inauguration, calling it a "half-baked" measure aimed at assembly elections. They cited the missing link between KR Pura and Baiyappanahalli. The BMRCL says it's working with the BMTC to run feeder services between KR Pura and Baiyappanahalli.
Pending work
While BMRCL authorities worked overtime to make the line ready, some work remains unfinished at several metro stations, especially near the entry and exit points.
Although the BMRCL has widened and developed Whitefield Main Road, the stretch under the Singayyanapalya (Mahadevapura) station is uneven and bumpy.
12 stations on Whitefield line
KR Puram, Singayyanapalya, Garudacharpalya, Hoodi, Seetharam Palya, Kundalahalli, Nallur Halli, Sri Sathya Sai Hospital, Pattandur Agrahara, Kadugodi Tree Park, Hope Farm Channasandra and Whitefield (Kadugodi).
Cost & time
The Whitefield metro line cost Rs 4,500 crore to build and took nearly six years to complete. Construction was slowed by land acquisition issues, road-widening works and the placement of an Open Web Girder (OWG) above the railway tracks in KR Puram.