Bengaluru’s much-awaited Metro extension service on purple line begins

BENGALURU: The long wait for the residents to travel by Metro from Whitefield to the Central Business District (CBD) and beyond has finally come to an end as train services began on two new sections in the city on Monday.

The purple line Metro extension service started between KR Pura and Baiyappanahalli. Built at a cost of Rs 363.48 crore, this line also connects key residential area of Whitefield with Bengaluru’s central business district.

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The Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura section is the missing link on the purple line and will play a crucial role in connecting the tech hub of Whitefield with the CBD and beyond.

Prof Rajeev Gowda, vice-chairman, State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka, and member of the Brand Bengaluru committee, said, “This will make travel easy for many. It’s not just the purple line, it connects the green line at Majestic. So, one can travel from Silk Institute to Whitefield easily. The state government has also introduced Metro feeder bus services from today itself and more buses will be added in the coming one or two days”.

Prof Rajeev Gowda, vice-chairman, State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka.

“The trains will run at 5 minute intervals during peak hours and from tomorrow, there will be loop services from Whitefield. If the IT/BT crowd take public transport, it will reduce traffic on the roads”, he added.

Citizen activist and co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru, Srinivas Alavilli, said, “This will benefit lakhs of people. The solution to Bengaluru’s traffic problem is public transport. Metro is fast and reliable, so many will opt for it and traffic congestion will reduce. We will launch a ‘personal to public’ campaign to request people to take public transport for at least two days in a week”.

Srinivas Alavilli, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru.

On Sunday, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) had confirmed that two new sections of the Purple Line will open on October 9. Of the two sections, one connects Baiyappanahalli and KR Pura (2.1 km) and the other connects Kengeri-Challaghatta (2.05 km).

KR Pura Metro station.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar on Sunday informed about the two vital links of the East-West corridor of BMRCL and posted on X, “I had requested on the 5th of October, 2023 to the Government of India for the opening of two sections between KR Puram to Baiyappanahalli and from Kengeri to Challaghatta”.

Baiyappanahalli Metro station.

“The GoI has responded to inform that the above two sections will be formally dedicated to the nation by the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka within two weeks of time. In order to provide immediate convenience to the commuters in these two vital missing links of the East-West corridor of BMRCL, we have decided to make the above two sections operational from the 9th of October, 2023”, he added.

The 2.1-km Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura and 2.05-km Kengeri-Challaghatta sections opened to the public from 5 am today. They are part of the purple line, which will stretch from Whitefield in the east to Challaghatta in the west and span 42.85 km.

Challaghatta Metro station.

“PM Narendra Modi Ji has instructed BMRCL to throw open services on the new stretches of the purple line (Challaghatta to Kengeri and Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield) on an immediate basis and without delaying the operations to hold any formal inauguration ceremony with a VIP presence,” a communique, posted by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan, on X said.

The MP further said that this is another demonstration of cutting down VIP culture in the country and placing public interest as the top priority. “We must place on record PM Modi ji’s invaluable contribution to Bengaluru — the most among any other PMs”, he said.

On the occasion of throwing opening of the new stretch of Namma Metro’s purple line, the three MPs representing Bengaluru — D V Sadananda Gowda, P C Mohan and Tejasvi Surya — have extended gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for his ‘invaluable contribution’ to the city’s development and constant support for Bengaluru. (ANI)