Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (Southern Circle) A M Chowdhary (third from right) inspects Namma Metro's newly constructed line (Nagasandra-Madavara) on Thursday (October 3).
Credit: BMRCL
Bengaluru: The statutory inspection of Namma Metro's Green Line extension was completed in just one day, instead of the planned two days, raising hopes that the long-delayed stretch might finally open by mid-October.
On Thursday, the Commissioner for Metro Railway Safety (Southern Circle), AM Chowdhary, along with his deputy Nitish Kumar Ranjan and their team, inspected the newly constructed elevated line between Nagasandra and Madavara.
They assessed such elements as the viaduct, tracks, signalling and traction systems, besides inspecting station buildings and conducting a speed trial on the 3.14-km stretch at up to 90 kmph, a senior BMRCL official in the know told DH.
From Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), officials from the civil, rolling stock, and signalling and traction sections were present during the inspection.
To facilitate the inspection, the BMRCL suspended train services between Peenya Industry and Nagasandra from 10 am to 2 pm.
The inspection was originally scheduled for two days (October 3 and 4).
The CMRS is expected to provide conditional approval for the line's commercial operation within a week, the official added.
The BMRCL aims to open this stretch by mid-October, according to another senior official.
During revenue service (public operation), the maximum speed will be 80 kmph.
This stretch, which includes three elevated stations at Manjunath Nagar, Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara, has been the slowest to build in Namma Metro's history due to land acquisition challenges and financial struggles faced by the contractor. Simplex Infrastructures Limited was awarded the Rs 298.65-crore civil work contract in February 2017 with a 27-month deadline but the project has taken over 91 months.
Its opening will expand the Bengaluru metro network to 76.95 km and help ease traffic congestion on the arterial Tumakuru Road.
Among other things, it will provide connectivity to the Prestige Jindal City and the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), located right next to the Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara metro stations, respectively.