Bengaluru: On any given day, traveling from Byappanahalli to Mysuru Road takes close to two hours at peak time and more than one hour at non-peak time. But all this will change overnight as the metro is gearing up to clear the last obstacle in connecting these two junctions — the underground stretch between Cubbon Park and Magadi Road in the east-west corridor.
In just Rs 40 and in 33 minutes now commuters will be able to travel from Mysuru Road to Byappanahalli. This is not only going to be the first fully functional corridor in Bengaluru but also for the entire south India and it is sure to change the way citizens used to travel and will be the lifeline of the city.
Parmesh Kushal travels from Magadi Road to MG Road every day by bus or private vehicle. He says, “I can’t believe I will be reaching MG Road in less than half an hour. On a normal day I take almost 40 minutes to reach MG Road. There is no doubt that it has taken its time. But better late than never!”
Voicing a similar opinion, Rajni Kumari, who travels from Mysore Road to MG Road every day for work says, “We are eagerly waiting for the entire stretch to open. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that we had lived this dream along with BMRCL.” People can park their vehicles at Mysore Road, Majestic Interchange station, Trinity Circle and Byappanahalli. Besides, BMTC too will be providing feeder buses at every station.
Apart from the working class and college students, many traveling outside the city through trains will find it very helpful. The stretch has altogether 17 stations that pass through many important junctions of the city where there are a lot of educational institutions and tech company houses.
A BMRCL official said, “The date of inauguration has not been fixed as of now. The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) has directed us to comply with a few safety aspects to take care of and we are busy doing that currently. However, the stretch should be completed before the month’s end for the public.”
However, deadlines have been moving from month to month. Initially it was scheduled to be opened in January, then February, March and now April. The entire Phase 1 is expected to be fully functional by December 2016.
