The opening of the entire east-west corridor (Purple line) will drastically reduce travel time for passengers, making it a game-changer for the city’s mobility landscape.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has begun the process of test-charging the 33 kV cables and 750V DC third rail along the viaduct in the Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura and Kengeri-Chellaghatta sections of the Purple Line of Bengaluru metro.
BMRCL managing director, Anjum Parwez, announced that trial runs on the Byappanahalli-KR Pura (2.1 km) and Kengeri-Challaghatta (2 km) Metro sections will commence simultaneously on 22 August.
In preparation for the commissioning of the KR Pura-Whitefield and Kengeri-Challaghatta lines by the end of August, this is just one of the initial steps being taken.
This will complete the commissioning of the entire east-west corridor (Purple Line).
BMRCL has issued a public notice as part of their standard operating procedure, advising citizens to not enter the viaduct areas without authorisation due to the potential danger of direct contact with the 750V third rail or 33 kV cables.
According to B L Yashavanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer of BMRCL, test-charging is the first step in ensuring the functionality of all electrical systems. This will be followed by static and dynamic tests, and then service trials involving running trains on the track as they would during regular operations.
In the upcoming step, the inspection of both lines will be carried out by the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS), as stated by Chavan. He expressed optimism that this inspection would be completed within a day or two, reports Deccan Herald.
Upon receiving clearance from the CMRS, both lines will be prepared for commercial operations by the end of August, according to Chavan.
The operational section of the Purple Line currently spans 39.4 km, connecting Byappanahalli to Kengeri and Whitefield (Kadugodi) to KR Puram.
The missing link between KR Pura and Byappanahalli has caused inconvenience for many passengers, especially tech professionals commuting to areas such as Mahadevapura, ITPB, and Kadugodi.
Once the missing link is completed, office-goers will have the option to live in more affordable areas near Challaghatta and commute to their workplaces in Whitefield and surrounding areas.
The opening of the entire east-west corridor will drastically reduce travel time for passengers, making it a game-changer for the city’s mobility landscape.
According to Parwez, it will take approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes to travel between Challaghatta and Whitefield (Kadugodi), whereas covering the same distance by bus or cab usually takes more than two hours during peak time.
“At least 70,000 passengers per day will shift to Namma Metro when the Purple Line becomes fully operational. We believe that more people will choose Namma Metro as it provides a comfortable travel experience in the city,” added Parwez.
The completion of the Byappanahalli-Whitefield Metro section, an extension of the Purple Line, was originally scheduled for December 2020 but experienced delays due to various reasons.
Due to South-Western Railway’s insistence on using an OWG instead of a composite girder for the Metro’s rail crossover at Benniganahalli, the KR Pura-Byappanahalli section experienced additional delays. These delays were further exacerbated by steel shortages.