Bengaluru: Namma Metro’s north-south operational line has not achieved as high a ridership as the east-west line, the main reason being the lack of connectivity to the Majestic hub.
The BMRC has just started laying the track line between Sampige and Majestic in the tunnel where the Magarita Tunnel Boring machine was at work. This will be followed by signaling and testing work. In the other tunnel, where Godaveri TBM achieved a breakthrough, the cleaning of the tunnel is under way. Taking all this into account, it will take more than three months for this 800-metre stretch to open. So those who want to travel seamlessly from Sampige to Majestic, have a long wait ahead of them. Currently BMRC is trying to bridge the gap by running BMTC feeder services, but this hasn’t elicited a very encouraging response from commuters.
Since the launch of the entire-east west corridor on April 30, the ridership on line 1 has been an average of 110,000 on the purple line and 4,0671 on the green line from Sampige to Nagasandra. Commuters complain that the lack of connectivity to Majestic is a bit of a dampener, which is why they often avoid taking the train.
Margarita TBM broke through last November and on April 19 this year, the Godavari Tunnel Boring Machine achieved its ‘breakthrough’ at Majestic. The next step will be setting up the connectivity between the two stations and the stretch will become fully functional. Once completed, commuters from the east-west corridor can travel to any destination on the North line, from Sampige Road to Nagasandra, without any hindrance.
Mr Vasanth Rao, spokesperson, BMRCL, said, “Now, we have a good frequency of BMTC feeder buses running between Majestic and Sampige and clearly it has helped commuters. The entire stretch should be open in a matter of 2-3 months, and this will open the connectivity from Majestic to Nagasandra. Work has already started on the Margarita side, so soon we will push a train from here and start trials on the Jayanagar side. The dismantling of Govaderi TBM is over, cleaning has started. After that a concrete bed will be constructed where the track will come up.” The project today stands at Rs 13,805 crore.
