Bangalore: A month after it was launched, Namma Metro’s new line has received a good response.
The stretch between Sampige Road and Peenya has netted Rs 1.33 crore revenue by ferrying a total of 6.8 lakh passengers. The line was inaugurated on February 28 and was thrown open to the public on March 1.
Terming the response as reasonable, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) officials, however, say that it is less than estimated. They opine that it is not fair to draw comparisons between projections and present usage.
A BMRCL senior official said the anticipated number of Metro users on this line was above 75,000 commuters every day, once the entire Phase I is commercially operative.
Namma Metro officials have been, time and again, emphasising that the entire Phase I will be commercially operative by September 2015, after all the required safety trials and approvals are completed.
The commuters on the new line are enjoying the ride, hoping that Reach 3B (from Peenya Industry to Nagasandra of distance 2.5 kilometres) would be opened soon.
Subhash from Rajajinagar, who travels every day to Peenya on the Metro line, said, “My workplace is in Peenya. I have abandoned my bike and have been using Metro, since the new line was opened. It is very convenient, safer and faster. But I am sorry for industrial workers whose workplace is farther and are awaiting for the extension to come through.”
BMRCL officials claim that the Reach 3B will be opened in four months’ time.
The Metro officials are now focused on Phase II, since most of the civil works on all the remaining reaches of Phase I are already complete. The geo-technical survey has been completed on the Gottigere-Nagawara stretch of Phase-II. It will be the most expensive line, as it will pass through the heart of the City, albeit, underground. BMRCL is already in touch with the civic agencies for utility shifting.
