Bengaluru Metro’s new stretch on Purple Line opens to public

With this, the total network of the Namma Metro will expand to 55km. The Purple Line of the metro is expected to cater to at least 75,000 passengers daily. With six stations —Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Jnanabharathi, Pattengere, Kengeri Bus Terminal, and Kengeri — on the extended Purple Line, the new route is 7.53 kilometres long. The Challaghatta Metro station, which lies across NICE Road, is yet to open.

According to the operational plan shared by BMRCL, the frequency of trains on the Mysore Road to Baiyappanahalli section will be at the rate of one every five minutes on all working days during peak hours, while it will be at the rate of one every ten minutes between Kengeri and Baiyappanahalli.

The first train will depart at 7 am from Baiyappanahalli, Kengeri, Nagasandra and Silk Institute terminals, while the last trains will depart at 8 pm from Kengeri and Silk Institute and at 08.05 pm from Baiyappanahalli and Nagasandra. The last service from the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Majestic station will be at 8.30 to all destinations.

#Bengaluru: The first day of commercial operations from Kengeri metro station to Baiyappanahalli started on today morning. The new extended #Mysuru Road-Kengeri Line was inaugurated on Sunday by @CMofKarnataka @BSBommai
& Union Minister @HardeepSPuri@IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/Bkl4C7m1qy

— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) August 30, 2021

The ticket rate will be Rs 56 from Byappanahalli station to Kengeri and Rs 45 from Byapanahalli to Mysore Road station, while it will cost Rs 60 to travel between Kengeri and Silk Institute (Green Line) which is the longest one could travel on the metro along the new stretch.

Operations on the new stretch were initially scheduled to begin in 2020 and then pushed to June 2021 as officials cited the second wave of Covid and unavailability of workers as reasons for the delay.

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has announced a feeder bus service to some of the new metro stations. From Monday, BMTC began operating 35 new buses on nine routes for a total of 499 trips.

“For the convenience of Metro Rail Passengers of Mysore Road, BMTC is introducing Metro Feeder buses from 7 am to 9 pm. These services will be further rationalised based on passenger traffic and demand,” BMTC said in a release.