Bengaluru: Green Line metro coaches added to cope with Purple Line rush

Bengaluru: With the Namma Metro’s Purple Line bursting at the seams, BMRCL has deployed three Green Line rakes to ease congestion. However passengers complain of heavy rush, especially on Mantri Mall to Majestic stretch

"Because of the rush I could not get onto the train in Mantri Mall station, at 9:30 am and missed two trains. The guards told me to hold my backpack up or give it to the person next to me, so as not to obstruct the doors which would beep if they can't close," said Mahesh Kashyap, a consultant with Centre for Sustainable Development.

BMRCL said that 11 rakes currently operate on the North South Green Line corridor during non peak hours and 15 are deployed during peak hours, while the more crowded Purple Line has 20 trains.

While the footfall is expected to grow on the Nagasandra- Yelachenahalli corridor on the Green Line, including the newly inaugurated stretch, the three-coach rake is inadequate to handle the 3.2 lakh commuters per day.

"Another issue is during peak hours passengers unnecessarily crowd near the doors. Even if they have to get off at the last stop, they will stand near the coach door, making it impossible for passengers to get in from the station," Kashyap complained.

He wondered if this was the state of affairs when the footfall has not even touched the expected 5 lakh milestone, what will happen in the future? “Either they have to soon add coaches or increase the frequency," he said.

Vasanth Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer, Namma Metro, too lamented that the passengers behavior was leading to crowding have a tendency to crowd the door.

"The Green Line metro is running at a capacity of 700 per rake, as opposed to the 945 passengers that can be accommodated. There is plenty of space, but many people prefer to stand near the doorway while travelling, blocking the entry of passengers boarding at the next station," Rao said.

"Many a times the first and last coach is empty, while the one in the middle is packed. People need to get used to metro and understand how to use it. They will eventually. Meanwhile, if there is a demand, we can organise short loop service between Mantri Mall and Putenahalli stations," Rao added.