A view of the skywalk at KR Puram junction, connecting metro and railway stations.
Credit: DH photo
Bengaluru: Passengers using the busy KR Puram junction in eastern Bengaluru have something to rejoice.
Authorities have quietly opened the foot overbridge (skywalk) at the chaotic intersection to connect the railway and metro stations.
A senior official in Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said the decision to open the skywalk without any fanfare was taken on the traffic police’s recommendation.
“Thousands of people cross the road daily to switch between the metro, train and bus. Police stop traffic to facilitate pedestrian movements. This was causing congestion. So the police asked us to open the skywalk for the safety of passengers and easing traffic,” the official said. The official inauguration will take place later, he added.
The BMRCL leased 226 sqm of land from the South Western Railway (SWR) to build the skywalk.
The railways parted with its land located near platform number 4 of the KR Puram train station. In return, the BMRCL has given the railways a piece of nearby land acquired from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
The foot overbridge provides direct access to the concourse of the Purple Line’s KR Pura metro station. However, railway passengers need to walk for about 100 metres through the parking lot to reach the FOB. In addition, they have to take the stairs to access the skywalk from the railway station. The work to install a lift is still underway.
According to B L Yashavanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, passengers can now reach the railway station from the metro station and vice versa. The general public can also use the FOB through the unpaid area of the metro station by using the lift and escalator.
The railways is also working to improve access to the skywalk as part of the project to redevelop KR Puram junction under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS).
The foot overbridge will also become useful when the metro’s Blue Line (Silk Board Junction-KR Pura-Kempegowda International Airport; 58.19 km) becomes operational in 2026 or later.
Chavan said the Blue Line station’s concourse would also be directly accessible from the skywalk.