Bengaluru: Trial runs on Whitefield-ITPL stretch of Namma Metro begin

The 3.5km Whitefield-Pattandur Agrahara stretch is part of the R1B stretch of the Bengaluru Metro’s 15 km Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield Purple Line.

The Purple Line from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield will have stops at Benniganahalli, K R Puram, Mahadevapura, Garudacharpalya, Hoodi Junction, Seetharama Palya, Kundalahalli, Nallurhalli, Sri Sathya Sai Hospital, Pattandur Agrahara (ITPL), Kadugodi, and Channasandra.

The BMRCL is expected to run trials next week between Baiyapanahalli to K R Puram on the R1A stretch of the Purple Line with one stop at Benniganahalli.

#Bengaluru #BengaluruMetro

The first train on Trial run started from Whitefield to ITPL..
Once full line operational it will connect #whitefield and #kengeri via heart of city @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/Dw3nRZkZIm

— Kiran Parashar (@KiranParashar21) October 21, 2022

The much-awaited Purple Line is expected to be opened in February-March 2023.

The BMRCL is attempting to begin trial runs on the much-awaited Purple Line extension from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield on October 25, senior BMRCL officials said earlier this month.

The trials of the Purple Line between Baiyapanahalli and K R Puram were initially slated to begin in September but BMRCL missed the deadline due to delays reportedly caused by the heavy rainfall in Bengaluru at the time.

BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parvez said that they were “trying to begin trials on October 25’”. The BMRCL was earlier targeting a December 2022 completion of the extension to Whitefield if the trials were to begin in September.

Last month, the BMRCL MD stated that efforts were being made to conduct the trials in the middle of October. “The trial run scheduled earlier was delayed due to rainfall. It is now postponed to mid-week of October. However, we have already started the manual trolly trials, which are usually done before experimenting with the trains. The trial runs with the train will go on for at least two months till December,” the BMRCL MD said in September.

The Baiyapanahalli to Whitefield stretch of the Purple Line runs over 15 km and will have two reaches – R1A, an 8.67 km stretch from Baiyappanahalli to Seetharama Palya, and R1B, a 7.14 km stretch from Seetharama Palya to Whitefield.

The Baiyapanahalli-Whitefield Bengaluru Metro line is expected to benefit around 3 lakh passengers. It will come as a welcome relief to thousands of commuters who are forced to endure over two hours in traffic every day to get to Whitefield or travel to the city from Whitefield.

“The opening of the line before the New Year is unlikely. Although major construction work is already completed, we are setting up a 65-meter single girder at Baiyappanahalli depot, just ahead of the railway crossing. There is other depot work remaining where we have to set up a ramp to bring the train to the depot at Baiyappanahalli. The public can use the line in February 2023 if all things go well,” Parvez said in September.