Bengaluru Metro blames rain for delay of Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield trial run

The trial run on the Bengaluru Metro’s 15-km elevated stretch between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield, scheduled for September, has been delayed because of the heavy rain that the city received in the past two months, according to the metro.

Anjum Parwez, managing director of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), expects the trial run to begin by mid-October. “The trial run scheduled for this month was delayed owing to rain. It is now being postponed to mid-October. However, we have already started the manual trolley trials, which are usually done before experimenting with trains. The trial runs with trains will go on for at least two months till December,” he told indianexpress.com on Wednesday.

Parwez said the stretch would be open only next year. “With more monsoon showers expected, the opening of the line before the new year is unlikely. Although major construction work is already complete, we are setting up a 65m single girder at the Baiyappanahalli depot, just ahead of the railway crossing. There are other depot works also wherein we have to set up a ramp to bring the train to the depot at Baiyappanahalli. Public can use the line in February 2023 if all things go well,” he said.

The much-awaited, extended purple line between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield is expected to benefit around three lakh passengers.