1,153-cr Blore bypass road project gets cabinet nod

The Hoskote-Dobbespet section of NH 207 will be expanded to a four-lane highway

With BDA still to start the contentious Peripheral Ring Road,the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure has approved the investment proposal for four-laning the Hoskote-Dobbespet section of NH 207 in Karnataka under NHDP Phase IV.

It may be noted that there was long talk of Bypass route to decongesting city.This road will act as a bypass road to Bangalore for vehicles coming from Tumkur side and heading to Doddaballapur,Hyderabad or Chennai,and vice-versa.The cost of the project will be Rs 1,153.30 crore,out which Rs 432.61 crore will be towards land acquisition,rehabilitation,resettlement and pre-construction.The total length of the project is 80.02 km.The concession period will be for 30 years,including construction period of 24 months.

The main objective of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Karnataka and also reduce the time and cost of travel for vehicles plying between Hoskote and Dobbespet.It will also increase the employment potential for local labourers.

Meanwhile,the cabinet committee also approved the four-laning of Solapur-Bijapur section of NH 13 in Maharashtra and Karnataka at a cost of Rs 1,091.89 crore,out of which Rs 89.41 crore will be towards land acquisition,rehabilitation,resettlement and pre-construction.The total length of the project is 110.542 km.The concession period will be 20 years,including construction period of 30 months.

The main objective of the project is also to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Maharashtra and Karnataka and also reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic plying between Solapur and Bijapur.

Hebbal - Silk Board Signal Free Corridor

• Agara flyover

• Iblur flyover

BIAL Expansion Rapidly

SC throws out plea for reopening old H'bad, B'lore airports

The Supreme Court today dismissed the petition of the Airport Authority Employees Union (AAEU) challenging the government's move to close old airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore.

A bench comprising Justice R V Raveendran and Justice H L Gokhale rejected the petition of the AAEU seeking restoration of commercial operations at the Hyderabad and Bangalore airports of the Airport Authority of India.

The Begumpet Airport at Hyderabad and HAL Airport at Banglore were run by AAI before their closure. These airports were closed for commercial operations after new greenfield airports were established on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis by private companies.

Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had also rejected the plea of the employees' union to restore commercial operations at the two airports, terming it a premature case.
The new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, in Hyderabad, is being run by a GMR-led consortium, while the new airport at Bangalore is located at Dewanhalli and is operated by a GVK group-led consortium.

Industrial areas, IT hubs to be connected

The State government in the current State budget announced that the work on Phase-2 will commence during 2012-13 and will be commissioned by 2017-18. The extension of Reach-1 and Reach-2 proposed in Phase-2 are going to give the much needed connectivity to the industrial areas and hubs of information technology. Tenders have been floated by BMRCL for the extension of both reaches for geotechnical investigations.
The State Government recently approved Phase- 2 consisting of four extension lines and two new lines with a total length of 72 km at a total cost of Rs 26,405 crore. The four extension lines will give the much needed last mile connectivity. The two new lines traversing through some of the most traffic congested areas of Bengaluru are expected to provide connectivity to the Information Technology industry. The Government of India has been requested to part-finance Phase-2 as it did Phase-1.
Extension under Phase-2:
Reach-1 extension: The first Namma Metro line to be inaugurated was Reach-1. However, people complained that the reach should have been extended to Whitefield.
Under Phase-2, a 12.50 km viaduct is proposed to be built with 14 stations, namely Jyothipura, K.R. Puram, Narayanpura, Mahadevapura, Gurudacharpalya, Doddanekundi industrial area, Visweswaraiah industrial area, Kunadanahalli, Vydehi hospital, Satyasai hospital, ITPL, Kadugodi, Ujawala Vidyalaya and Whitefield.
The Reach-1 extension is going to cover major industrial areas and also one of the biggest information technology hubs of Bengaluru, ITPL. There will be seamless connectivity from the central business district to Whitefield once the extension becomes operational. The extension will also help decongest Old Madras Road and other strategic and bustling locations around the vicinity.
Reach-2 extension: Soil testing is going to be conducted for the extension that has been proposed between Mysore Road Station and Kengeri terminal station. The viaduct is said to be 5.90 km, with six stations, namely Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bangalore University, R.V. College, Kengeri station and Kengeri terminal station.
This reach extension will be especially helpful to students as a major education institution, Bangalore University, is being covered in the route.

Metro picks up pace along Phase-2

Work on Phase-2 of Namma Metro is a little closer to taking off with the BMRCL inviting tenders for geotechnical investigations for this phase. Three separate tenders have been invited for execution of similar works in three sections of the project. The geotechnical investigation will be carried out on the two extensions of Reach-1 and Reach-2, which are part of Phase-2. Tenders have also been floated for geotechnical testing for a new metro line in phase-2, that is, Reach-5 that stretches between R.V. Road and Bommasandra, a 16-km-long stretch.

Soil tests for any infrastructure project are crucial. These tests determine the soil strata and enable designers to design appropriate foundations Reach-5 is going to provide the much needed connectivity to the bustling locations of south Bengaluru. The 16-km network will have 16 stations which include R.V. Road, Raggigudda temple, Jayadeva hospital station, BTM Layout, Silk Board, HSR Layout, Oxford College, Muneshwara Nagar, Chikkabegur, Basapura Road station, Hosa Road, Electronic City, Huskar Road, Hebbagodi and Bommasandra. This line once completed will help decongest areas where a large number of private companies are located, especially Silk Board, which has been a bottleneck all this while.

“There are several hundred people who used to travel via Silk Board which connects to important parts of the city like HSR Layout and BTM Layout. The metro network is planned at this strategic location to ensure that people can avail the metro facility for commuting. Also, this line will be connecting to Electronic City which is a major IT- BT hub and a metro link to this location was very important. The line will also cover important hospitals like Jayadeva on Bannerghatta Road,” said a senior BMRCL official.

Budget bonanza for Namma Metro

The Union Ministry of Urban Development got an increase of Rs 874 crore in its annual budget with a majority of the amount envisaged to be spent on  construction and extension of Metro network in cities across the country.
 Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced that while Delhi Metro will be getting Rs 1,112.57 crore as equity, because of its huge expansion plan, Bangalore Metro will get Rs 900 crore and Chennai, Rs 990 crore as equity.
The total plan outlay for the ministry, which partly owns all Metro networks in the country along with the respective state governments, is Rs 7,729 crore as against the last year’s allocation of Rs 6,855 crore.
A total of Rs 3,164.57 crore will be infused into the Metro Rail Corporations of Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kochi as Union Government’s equity.
Further, Rs 603 crore is earmarked for water supply and sanitation in Metro networks across the country.
As part of this allocation, the government also allocated Rs 570.88 crore as pass through assistance for Bangalore Metro, Rs 2,030 crore has been earmarked for Delhi Metro and Kolkata would receive Rs100 crore.
Chairman and Managing Director of the Bangalore Metro Sivasailam said that the Budget was favourable.
“Metro policies are already present. The current budget has been quite favourable overall. The Ministry of Urban Development too has made a proposal, and finance aspect has been considered,” Sivasailam said.
Urban experts claimed this was advantageous for not just Bangalore Metro but for other Metro constructions as well.
However, they specified that unless construction was completed in the stipulated time, allocating more funds would only harm taxpayers’ money. “Metro work is a white elephant’s work. It is the tax payers’ money and not just the government money that is being used in the construction that often gets delayed. Costs are going up and each time, more funding is required. Around Rs 1 lakh crore has been earmarked for transportation already,” said M N Sreehari, traffic advisor.

Bangalore's Hebbal flyover set to go wider

Here’s some good news for Bangaloreans. The busy Hebbal flyover that connects the Bengaluru International Airport to rest of the city will soon become six-lane wide, thus giving respite to the beleaguered traffic in the area. This is not all. The entire stretch of the road leading to the airport will be signal-free, thus enduring smooth traffic movement.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is handing over the Hebbal flyover to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for making it six-lane wide. Furthermore, NHAI is also preparing a detailed project report on making NH-7, from Hebbal flyover to international airport, eight-lane wide and signal-free.

BDA engineer R Sreenivasa said that they had discussed the issue with the officials of NHAI and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and government orders have also been issued. The BDA will clear the debris below the flyover and landscape the area at a cost of Rs1.9 crore, before handing it over to the NHAI for the widening work. Of the 5.6 km flyover, the NHAI aims to add piers on a kilometre stretch to make it six lane.

The BDA had constructed the flyover in coordination with the NHAI. The agency aims to develop 9.6 acresbelow the flyover and hand it over. A statue of Kempegowda will also be installed here.
BDA engineers point that the passenger car units (pcu) was 12,364 vehicles during peak hours in 2009 which is likely to increase to 13,291 in 2010.

BBMP chief engineer (major roads) Chikkarayappa said, the road till Hebbal belongs to the Palike and it will be handed over to improve upon the existing infrastructure. Furthermore, NHAI is also conducting surveys to construct flyovers at five junctions on the highway towards airport, to make it signal free. This will ensure seamless connectivity, NHAI manager, technical, Ravi Sudhakar told DNA. The project for widening the flyover, widening the highway till airport and constructing flyovers is estimated around Rs600 crore. It will be taken up on a public private partnership (PPP) model.

Experts point out that there is a need to undertake this project as the vehicular movement is rapidly increasing. Advisor to the government of Karnataka for traffic, transportation and infrastructure, MN Sreehari said that once road is widened, traffic will increase and thus lead to road congestion. He felt that as compared to BBMP and BDA, the NHAI has better expertise and knowledge it was a good idea to assign them this task.

New plan to lay concrete roads in City

The State Government has decided to construct concrete roads in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike jurisdiction on a cost-sharing basis with the civic agency.

‘Tender Sure’, a committee comprising urban planning experts, will provide Palike comprehensive specifications for civic amenities along the City roads across Bangalore. The first suggestion made by it and accepted by the State and the Palike is to provide concrete roads for commuters.

Palike Commissioner Shankarlinge Gowda said: “The project will provide quality concrete roads to citizens. The initial proposal will be to construct seven kilometres of concrete roads in the City on a 50:50 cost sharing model between the Palike and the State government.”

The roads will be constructed in such a way that it will not require cutting of roads for laying of underground drainage lines, telephone lines or power connections.

This would also see a large-scale makevoer along these roads where culverts, stormwater drains and other menial works will be taken up simultaneously.

The Palike Commissioner has suggested the State government to increase the allocation for laying these model concrete roads from seven kilometres to 25 kilometres. Currently, the Palike is in the process of identifying the stretch where concrete roads can be laid.

Two years ago, the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) had laid ‘free of cost’ cement road along Hosur Road to entice the Palike into laying the same across the City.

Rs 5,500 cr earmarked for Bangalore development

Karnataka budget for 2012-13 has a slew of initiatives, including expansion of terminal I of city airport and Metro Rail, for the development of country's IT hub.
The budget presented by state Chief Ministerster D V Sadananada Gowda has increased the outlay for the city to Rs 5,500 crore from Rs 4,770 crore in last year's budget.

Expansion of Terminal I of Bangalore International Airport (BIA), developed on PPP model and undertaken at a cost of Rs 1,479 crore, will be completed by December 2012, Gowda said in the assembly.

"It will handle 17.5 million passengers per annum as compared to existing capacity of 11 million."
Work on Phase-2 of Metro Rail is planned to commence during 2012-13 and would be completed by by 2017-18, he said.

The entire Phase 1 of Metro Rail is expected to be completed by December 2013, Gowda said, adding, "an outlay of Rs 500 crore has been made for the metro project."

Within the next 9 months opening of another 10.4 km is planned, Gowda said.

The State Government has approved the Phase-2 consisting of 4 extension lines and 2 new lines with a total length of 72 km at a total cost of Rs 26,405 crore.

The extension lines will give the much-needed last mile connectivity to the commuters.

The two new lines traversing through some of the densest and traffic congested areas of Bangalore are expected to provide connectivity to the Information Technology industry, he said.

Work of laying natural gas pipeline from Dabhol to Bangalore by Gas Authority of India Limited is expected to be completed this fiscal, Gowda said.

Gowda said GAIL and Karnataka State Industrial Infrastructure and Development Corporation have formed a joint venture company to provide clean fuel for power plants, transport vehicles, industries and households in and around Bangalore. (MORE) PTI BDN MSR BN KSR 03211946

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP-city corporation) would take up five important signal-free corridor projects with a total length of 51.5 km during 2012-13 at an estimated cost of Rs 426 crore to ease traffic congestion, Gowda said.

Sixteen methane generation projects by using wet solid waste would also be taken up through PPP model in Bangalore.

Gowda said total financial support of Rs 1,000 crore will be provided to BBMP for financing major selected projects including road, parking and solid waste management infrastructure during 2012-13.

The Cauvery Water Supply Scheme - Stage IV - Phase II is likely to be completed by September 2012, which would bring additional 500 MLD water to Bangalore and give much needed relief to outer areas, he said.

Ten new police stations, including three traffic police stations in Bangalore, would be started and Rs 20 crore is being provided for traffic police, Gowda said.

A total outlay of Rs 126 crore has been provided for promotion of Information Technology, Bio-Technology and Science and Technology activities.

Meanwhile, an infrastructure bill to facilitate more projects on public-private-partnership basis through transparent and accountable procedures having statutory backing would be brought before the Legislature, Gowda said today.

He said a comprehensive Karnataka Strategic Infrastructure Investment Plan with a large bouquet of investment-ready infrastructure projects in 12 sectors is being prepared with assistance of competent consultants and transaction advisors.

To give a major push to the industrial growth, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board would develop a land bank across the state with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore.

Gowda said 11 sector-specific parks in various regions focused on food, gems and jewellery, auto ancillary, machine tool and pharmaceutical would be set up by KIADB with a total outlay of Rs 70 crore.

Swastik Malleshwarm Station by Mantri Developers

METRO SET TO BECOME EXPENSIVE

State persuades Centre to study B’lore-Mysore HSRL

The State government, after a series of meetings with the Ministry of Railways, has impressed upon the Centre to conduct a pre-feasibility study for a high speed rail link (HSRL) between Bangalore and Mysore.

“Although the Centre has planned for six HSRLs in the country, we have convinced them to add the Bangalore-Mysore line to its list and to conduct a pre-feasibility study, after a lot of deliberation,” a senior official from the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) said.

On the proposal sent by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) E Sreedharan, the official said the State government will write to him informing that the DMRC need not conduct the feasibility study, as the Centre has agreed to do the same.

Barring the Bangalore-Mysore line, the Centre has in the pipeline the implementation of regional high-speed rail projects connecting commercial, tourist and pilgrimage centres.

The corridors included are: Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Howrah-Haldia, Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna and Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai.

Elevated corridors

As these high-speed rail corridors will be built as elevated corridors, the habitation below will remain unaffected.

In a letter dated February 3, Sreedharan, Principal Adviser, DMRCL had proposed an HSRL between Mysore and Bangalore and had said that it was “ ...eminently justified.” With a speed potential of 350 kmph, the 110-km corridor can be traversed within less than 30 minutes.

According to sources, even the Centre’s HSRL proposes a similar speed.

Besides, the State government is also holding talks with the Kerala government for the extension of the planned HSRL line between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod, covering 560 km,  up to Udupi.

“They have realised that it is not business wise to just end the line at Kasargod. Though they have evinced interest to extend the line upto Mangalore, we have communicated to them to extend it further to Udupi,” the official said.

While Sreedharan had quoted Rs 50 lakh for the pre-feasibility study, Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), under the Ministry of Railways will be conducting the study for the Bangalore-Mysore link, as the Centre has agreed to it.

The study will highlight technical standards to be adopted, the route to be followed, estimated cost, ridership forecast and other aspects.

East Pier of BIAL along with the current expansion of the terminal

BBMP to rake in moolah with skywalks

If you think treading on a skywalk (foot over-bridge) will elevate your sense of joy, here is some good news. The BBMP plans to construct 14 skywalks across the city—in addition to the seven that are already there—to not only mitigate pedestrians’ woes but to help traffic police regulate jaywalkers on busy roads.

The BBMP floated tenders on February 18, inviting bidders for the construction of skywalks at various areas in the city on a design, build,own, operate and transfer (DBOOT) basis. The bidders would be authorised to maintain these skywalks for 20 years to recover the construction cost.

The selection of bidders is expected to be completed in 20 days. “We will select those who have the capacity to construct the skywalks and offer more revenue to the BBMP,’’said YM Ramachandramurthy,
joint commissioner (advertisement), BBMP. The BBMP secures `1.2lakh per year as rent from hoardings put up on each of the seven skywalks that were constructed around eight years ago.

The skywalk being built near Cauvery Bhavan on Kempe Gowda Road is expected to generate `9 lakh per
year as rent. However, according to sources, the BBMP is mulling over cancelling the contracts signed with those who are maintaining the seven skywalks.

“We want them to pay tax on the space used for advertisements,but they are not complying. Hence, the standing committee on taxation has recommended to cancel the contracts for the maintenance of these skywalks,’’ said a BBMP official.

However, observers said skywalks are a ploy to bolster the BBMP’s coffers. Meanwhile, there is a plea to provide elevators at select skywalks.“How many pedestrians use skywalks? The design and size of these skywalks have been ruining the city’s beauty. These are aimed at generating revenue for the advertisement agencies and the BBMP,’’ said Kathyayini Chamaraju, trustee, CIVIC, a city-based civil rights forum. Vinay Srinivas, a civil rights activist, said the BBMP should encourage people to walk on the footpaths and use bicycles. “It will be better if the authorities concerned provide pedestrian-operated signals instead of constructing skywalks

Cracks showing on Kadugodi overbridge

The 20-month-old bridge even has shrubs growing out of the gaps.Shoddy dividers make the drive a nightmare for motorists

The railway overbridge at Kadugodi junction in Whitefield was to have been completed in 15 months but it took almost four years.One would have expected that extra time to have been translated into better quality.But motorists travelling on the 640-metre bridge have a different story.In about 20 months since its opening in July 2010,the bridge is cracking at places and even has shrubs growing on it.
When South Western Railways began the project in November 2006,there was excitement for many reasons.It not only promised to cut down the commute to BIA by almost 20 km but also provided thousands of techies easier access to ITPL.
Another reason for the hoopla was the fact that it was going to be an engineering feat - 200 tonnes of specialised steel was being used to construct 42 metres of the bridge going over six electrified railway tracks,making it the longest steel girder in the country.
Thats one reason why the process took so long and also why it took almost two years before the safety clearance was through.
Despite that,quality seems to have suffered.When the stretch opened,there were a lot of accidents because there was no divider.Now the divider has become a problem because it is not a permanent structure.The stones are laid haphazardly and move even with the slightest nudge from vehicles.These dislodged stones then become a problem for other commuters.As if that is not enough,the shoddy patchwork on the potholes and the joints on the flyover are already in a shambles.It is a pain to drive on it, says Vinay Rao,who uses the stretch to drive to Hoskote every day.
Even if one blames the shoddy bitumen on the dense vehicular density (the estimated passenger car unit is about 7,000),motorists are at a loss when it comes to the cracks and shrubs appearing on the structure.
Velmani K,another techie who travels from Kadugodi to ITPL,says,The pedestrian underpass near the Sathya Sai Baba Ashram has gaping cracks,with shrubs sprouting from one of them.Who does these quality checks

ASK RAILWAYS,SAYS BBMP

When we contacted BBMP over the shoddy job,they were quick to point out that the density of traffic means the road keeps coming up for repair.
But the major issues with the construction are not our fault because it was the Railways that built the bridge.A two-year-old structure ideally should not start showing cracks.But the Railways are the only ones who can answer the question about quality, said a senior engineer with the BBMP.The engineering arm of the Railways remained tight-lipped over the matter.
When S Mani,DRM,was contacted,he first denied there were any cracks,but he,however,said he would look into the matter.
Traffic police say they have a real problem on their hands during peak hours.The stretch that falls under Whitefield police station limits has to be often manned by cops.The divider certainly causes problems during peak hours, said subinspector Dharmappa.

The poorly laid divider on the railway overbridge

A shrub grows out of a crack;(right) another crack in the retaining wall

City-Chennai bullet train inching closer

The Bullet Train, which is part of the High Speed Rail project connecting Bengaluru and Chennai with a link to Mysore, is inching closer to reality. In the coming budget, the central government is constituting a nine-member High Speed Rail Board to execute the project.

The Railway Ministry appointed consultants last year to take up the pre-feasibility study on the six proposed routes, including the Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram. The pre-feasibilty study will be tabled in Parliament and the final feasibility study will begin in April.

“A pre-feasibility study has been conducted on the six select corridors. In the Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram stretch, there is a plan to either include Mysore in the main route or to create a branch line to that city. A final decision will be taken only after the feasibility study,” said Vinay Kumar, Executive Director (Planning), Railway Board. These trains are capable of running up to 250 to 300 km per hour and will be extended to eight more corridors. “These projects will take over five years for completion, depending on how and when the work starts. We have had both Japanese and French companies showing interest in the project,” he added.

The project is expected to find the much-needed push once the bill on the formation of Board is cleared in Parliament. The board will have a chairman and eight members. “Bengaluru will get the Bullet Train. We have formulated a bill to form a special board only for the High Speed Rail project. Once that is cleared, the other works related to the project too will be hastened,” said K.H. Muniyappa, Union Minister of State for Railways. The six routes under the project are: Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar; Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad; Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai; Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram; Howrah-Haldia and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi

Four traffic integration points planned

The proposed new North-South line between Gottigere-Nagavara under Namma Metro Phase II will offer greater connectivity as it will have two points of integration with metro lines and one point each with city bus service and the railways.

While the two metro integration points are proposed near Jayadeva Hospital and Mahatma Gandhi Road, the integration with BMTC bus-station is planned at Shivajinagar and with the railways at the Cantonment Railway Station.

Originating at Gottigere as an elevated corridor, the line passes through Hulimavu station and traverses on the median of Bannerghatta Road in front of IIMB, where the IIMB Station will be located.

The alignment

From IIMB, the line touches J.P. Nagar IV Phase, BTM Layout and crosses the flyover at Marenahalli at higher level near Jayadeva Hospital. The alignment crosses another proposed line between R.V. Road Terminal (of the North-South Corridor of Namma Metro Phase I) and Bommasandra here at a higher level. Both the stations on these lines will be interconnected.

Continuing as an elevated line, the alignment will go underground from the Fire Brigade area on Bannerghatta Road till Nagavara.

Mahatma Gandhi Road

The underground alignment passes by the side of Mico. Crossing Richmond Road at Vellara, it goes beneath Brigade Road. The Mahatma Gandhi Road underground station will be located close to the elevated station. The new underground and elevated stations will be connected through escalators and stairs.

The alignment then crosses Cubbon Road to reach Shivajinagar.

The Shivajinagar metro station is planned at Shivajinagar Stadium, which will have connectivity with the BMTC terminal. The alignment then moves below Queen's Road to reach the parking area in front of Cantonment Railway Station, where the Cantonment Station is planned. Both the metro and Railway stations will be integrated at this point.

Moving beneath the railway line, metro line goes to Millers Road, Nandidurg Road and traverses below Benson Town to reach Pottery Town open ground where the Pottery Town underground metro station is planned.

The alignment then moves below Tannery Road, crosses Salem Railway line and then Outer Ring Road to reach Nagavara.

Reach 3: Test tracks ready

While there are several legal hurdles causing a delay in work along Reach-3 line of the metro, the good news is that test tracks at Peenya depot are ready. It is expected that the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) will procure train sets for this Reach by March end or the beginning of April. 

During testing for Reach-1 trains at Byapanhalli depot test tracks, it was difficult to run trains at maximum speed as the tracks are just 900 meters long. Peenya depot has the additional advantage as the test tracks are about 1.2 km long and trains can be tested at high speeds of 90 km per hour. 

The BMRCL is procuring 12 trains for Reach 3 and 3A, 11 trains for Reach 3B. Each train has a carrying capacity of 1000 passengers. To start with, there may be about 8 trains deployed on the section, with a daily passenger uptake of about 40,000 and increasing to full capacity as and when the line is connected to central parts of the city in about 2 years.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Chief PRO of BMRCL, B.L. Yaswanth Chavan said, “The test tracks are completed at Peenya depot but we are yet to procure trains from BEML and these are likely to be delivered by next month. We have ordered 25 train sets for Reach-3 and the test run will follow as soon after we receive the train sets.” 

He emphasised that it is going to take quite some time for the completion of the main tracks along Reach-3 as there is a lot of work needs to be completed before trains can be tested on the main line. Reach 3, 3A and 3B is about 10 km long, passes through industrial, residential and commercial areas of the city. “We are focused on the opening of the Peenya northern line upto Peenya scheduled for December 2012. Issues of concern include litigation over acquisition of land for the construction of the sandal soap factory station which has been going on for over 3 years. Substantial construction work at the station is held up for want of this land ,” said a BMRCL official.