Bangalore: Dream Realized as Namma Metro Chugs Off
Bangalore, Oct 20 (IANS): A 6.7 km network, 12 minutes and a significant leap. India's tech hub Bangalore finally came on board the Metro rail Thursday, more than 30 years after the ambitious project was mooted, hoping for an end to its growing traffic woes.
While Bangalore's eight million people will have to wait their turn, about 600 invitees had the privilege of commuting in its three coaches from upscale M.G. Road in downtown to Baiyappannahalli in the eastern suburb.
After launching the service - it can carry 1,000 commuters at a time - at the decked up M.G. Road station with a remote button, Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath flagged off the first ride. On board were central and state ministers, corporate honchos, top officials and media corps.
Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, central ministers from Karnataka, including M. Veerappa Moily, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley and Japanese ambassador Akitaka Saiki were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
Cost overruns and inordinate delays have bedevilled the project.
Conceived as an alternative transport in the early 80s, the 'Namma Metro' (Our Metro) hopes to give a breather to Bangalore's denizens caught in traffic snarls, potholed roads and poor public transport.
"Reach-1 of the first phase from M.G. Road to Baiyappanhalli will cater to commuters living in the densely populated eastern suburb," Bangalore Metro Rail Corp Ltd (BMRCL) managing director N. Sivasailam told IANS here.
Once the network expands, the 42.3-km double line electrified track in the first phase will snake through the city, with 18.1 km on the east-west corridor and 24.2 km on north-south corridor, including 8.8 km underground in the city centre.
"When the remaining 35.6-km route under construction is completed by 2014, the Metro will become the most sought after commuting mode in the city like in Delhi," a beaming Sivasailam asserted.
But unlike Delhi Metro, this one faced constantly delays.
Although civil works began in 2007 after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone in 2006, Reach-1 was executed in March 2011, 24 months behind schedule.
"We have so far invested about Rs.4,000 crore. Due to various factors, some beyond our control, the total project cost has been revised to Rs.11,609 crore ($2.37 billion) from the estimated Rs.8,158 crore ($1.67 billion dollars)," Sivasailam said.
With the state and federal governments hold 15 percent equity each, the project has 25 percent debt component from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The excitement surrounding the inaugural run is, however, not shared by many citizens, including experts and analysts.
"Reach-1 will not be able to meet the high expectations of the people as the distance is too short to address the dreadful public transport system in an ever-growing metropolis," said M.N. Srihari, advisor to the state government on traffic, transport and infrastructure.
Initially, the corporation will operate five trains in each direction at a frequency of 10-15 minutes to carry about 1,000 commuters per trip from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with fares ranging Rs.10-15.
"Once the service picks up and as more people prefer taking the Metro to save time and commute safely in air-conditioned comfort, we will double the coaches to six from three. We expect about 25,000 people to use the Metro in Reach-1," Sivasailam pointed out.
According to B. Sashikala, 25, who works in an IT multinational at Whitefield, about 20 km from the city centre, it is too early to judge how much difference the Metro would make to people who have got used to personal vehicles in the absence of alternative transport.
"It is nice to know the Metro is getting off the mark finally though the distance covered in Reach-1 is short. The service should have been extended up to Whitefield where several IT and biotech firms operate and thousands of young techies commute daily," Sashikala said.