Bengaluru, Jun 22: The much-awaited first six-car Metro coach of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) hit the tracks in Karnataka capital today.
Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy flagged off the train from a decked up Byappanahalli metro station in the presence of deputy CM G Parameshwara and Union minister of state for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. The CM, along with dignitaries, also traveled in the new six-coach train till Kempegowda Majestic Metro station.
The new six car train which will have one coach reserved for women will run along the Purple Line (Byappanahalli - Mysuru Road) and is expected to help meet peak hour rush. The Purple line was chosen since it is busier than the Green line.
With the addition of three coaches, each train will now be able to carry 1950 passengers, almost double the existing capacity of 975. BMRCL currently runs 50 three-car trains on both lines in a day.
Last Sunday also marked a year of the completion of Phase 1. In the last one year, Phase 1 registered a ridership of over 12 crore, with an average ridership of 3.3 lakh every day on the 42km network and is expected to touch 5 lakh.
It may be recalled that Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) had handed over the first three intermediate cars to BMRCL on February 14. Following several trial runs, BMRCL recently obtained safety clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and railway board. The second batch of three cars is expected to be delivered by BEML next month and subsequent addition of coaches will not require safety clearance from CRS, and internal safety checks would suffice.
In March last year, BEML bagged the Rs 1,421-crore order to supply 150 sets of intermediate cars to expand the existing three-car trains by June 2019. This will convert all three car trains to six by the end of next year.
In June last year, the Karnataka government and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) had promised three additional coaches for at least one or two trains by December, 2017. However, BMRCL missed several deadlines.
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