MPs take Bengaluru metro during peak hour to understand commuters' problems

Bengaluru: In the face of repeated disruptions and severe congestion on the Bengaluru metro, MPs PC Mohan and LS Tejasvi Surya hitched a metro ride during the peak hour on Monday. 

Union Minister and Bangalore North MP Shobha Karandlaje visited the KR Pura metro station briefly. 

Starting from KR Pura to Majestic, the parliamentarians interacted with commuters to seek their inputs in improving Namma Metro. While the metro was crowded as always, there was an unusual chaos built around the security and crowd management at several stations considering the MPs' presence in the second coach of the metro. 

Of the major grievances raised by commuters was poor connectivity between Garudacharpalya and Pattandur Agrahara alongside confusing signage at the Majestic interchange station. 

Considering women's safety on the metro, Mohan said that based on the number of women commuters, they would think of reserving the first two coaches exclusively for women on the existing lines. 

With an average daily ridership of over 8 lakh, Namma Metro has reported serious overcrowding issues after the entire Purple Line opened in October last year. 

Currently, Namma Metro has 57 trains of six coaches. Thirty-four of them are deployed on the Purple Line and the rest on the Green Line. However, demand is so high on the Purple Line that some Green Line trains are also diverted to it. 

Despite demand, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) cannot add more trains this year. 

China’s CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, along with its Indian partner Titagarh Rail System Ltd, will begin supplying 21 trains for the Purple and Green lines only in 2025. 

Surya said the new trainsets would start arriving by June 2025, with two rakes coming every month. 

"The additional 21 train sets with six car coaches each will increase the ridership by about 40%," he noted. 

The Bangalore South MP also announced the construction of skywalks and travelators from the Banashankari metro station to BMTC TTMC, with resources being pooled by Namma Metro and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The civic body earlier released Rs 50 crore for the same. 

Considering the recent suicides on metro tracks, Surya said there were plans to install platform screen doors at Majestic. 

In addition, he said that in the next two weeks, a detailed analysis of the Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra, 19.15 km) would be carried out for a better understanding of the transport infrastructure, based on people's suggestions. 

New entrance at Majestic

A new entrance has been opened at Majestic to help commuters switch between the Purple and Green lines.

The BMRCL has opened a new entrance at the Majestic metro station for commuters switching between the Green and Purple lines.