Purple Line (Namma Metro)

Purple Line
A Purple Line metro train waiting at Halasuru Metro Station.
Overview
Type	Metro
System	Namma Metro
Locale	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Termini	Baiyyapanahalli (Phase I), Whitefield (Phase II) Mysore Road (Phase I), Kengeri (Phase II)
Stations	17 (Phase I) 35 (Phase II)
Daily ridership	25,000 (November 2015)[1]
Operation
Opened	20 October 2011
Owner	Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL)
Character	Elevated and underground
Depot(s)	Baiyappanahalli
Technical
Line length	18.22 km (Phase I) 34.30 km (Phase II)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Operating speed	32 km/h (20 mph)
Route map Legend Whitefield Ujwala Vidyalaya Kadugodi International Tech Park Satyasai Medical Institute Vaidehi Hospital Kundalahalli Visvesvaraya Industrial Estate Doddanakundi Garudacharpalya Mahadevapura Narayanapura KR Puram Jyothipuram Baiyappanahalli Swami Vivekananda Road Indiranagar Halasuru Trinity Mahatma Gandhi Road Gottigere - Nagavara line Cubbon Park Vidhana Soudha Sir M. Visveshwarya Kempegowda Green Line City railway station Magadi Road Hosahalli Vijayanagar Attiguppe Deepanjali Nagar Mysore Road Nayandahalli Rajarajeshwari Nagar Bangalore University R.V. College of Engineering Kengeri

The Purple Line of the Namma Metro is part of the metro rail system for the city of Bangalore, India. Under Phase I, there will be 17 stations, totalling a distance of 18.22 km on this line. Once finished under Phase II, it will consist of 36 stations from Whitefield in the east to Kengeri in the west. The line will measure 40.10 km and will be mostly elevated, with some stations underground. Currently, a 13.32 km stretch between Baiyyappanahalli and M. G. Road and between Mysore Road to Magadi Road is operational. The line connects the eastern, central and western areas of Bangalore. The Phase I extension, from Mysore Road to Baiyyappanahalli is expected commence operations by March 2016, thereby completing the entire Purple Line stretch.

History

The following dates represent the dates the section opened to the public, not the private inauguration.

The detailed project report (DPR) for Phase I, comprising the Purple and Green Lines, of the Namma Metro project was prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and submitted to the BMRCL in May 2003. The final approval on a scheme that incorporated the expertise of DMRC and RITES Limited did not come until April 2006.^[2] The DPR prepared by DMRC envisaged a 33 km (21 mi) elevated and underground rail network with 32 stations for Phase I of the project. The proposed gauge was standard gauge unlike the broad gauge on the Delhi Metro network. The rationale for the metro includes reduced journey times, cutting fuel use, accident reduction and lower pollution.

Construction work for Phase I of the Namma Metro project was scheduled to start in 2005 but was delayed by a February 2006, due to change of government in Karnataka and continued debate over whether the project was financially feasible and appropriate for the city. Finally, on 25 April 2006, the Indian Cabinet approved the project, which was then budgeted at more than ₹54 billion (US$790 million).^[3] The cost escalated to ₹116.09 billion (US$1.7 billion) as various problems delayed the completion.^[4] BMRCL received ₹7 billion (US$100 million) from Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), ₹250 million (US$3.7 million) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), 23% from the Central Government, 33% from the State Government and the rest as a ₹49.05 billion (US$720 million) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).^[5][6] Navayuga Engineering was awarded the contract to construct Reach 1 of the Purple Line in 2006.^[7] The foundation stone for the Phase I construction was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 24 June 2006,^[8] and civil construction on Reach I of the line, between M.G. Road and Baiyyappanahalli, commenced on 15 April 2007.^[9] The underground work commenced in May 2011. Each corridor consists of two tunnels which are the first underground tunnels built for trains in South India. The tunnels, dug using tunnel boring machines (TBM), are located approximately 60 feet below ground level, have a diameter of 5.5 metres and are 5 metres apart. Four TBMs, nicknamed Helen (TBM 1), Margarita (TBM 2), Kaveri (TBM 3) and Krishna, were used for tunnelling work on the Purple Line.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15]}

Reach 1 was originally scheduled to begin operations in March 2010.^[16] Reach 2, the remaining elevated section of Purple Line was scheduled to be completed by December 2012. But it will open fully by February 2016.^[17] After the deadline was missed, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) shifted the deadline to 31 December 2010. It was again changed to 4 April 2011 and then the date of inauguration was set at 15 September 2011. The next deadline set was 26 September 2011 which was also missed. The metro was finally opened to the public on 20 October 2011 at 4 pm IST by Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath.^[16] There was an overwhelming response to the metro at the commencement of operations. As per BMRCL sources within first three days of operations, 169,019 people used this mass transit system.^[18] At the end of 4th day about 200,000 passengers had already commuted in Namma Metro. Namma Metro's first 12-day cumulative revenue was ₹10 million (US$150,000).^[19] During the first month, since the opening of Reach I, about 1,325,000 people travelled by the metro.^[20] On average, 41,390 people took the train every day, while the average daily revenue was ₹667,262. The BMRC earned a revenue of ₹21 million (US$310,000) in its first month of operation.^[21] In the first six months of operation, average ridership went down to 24,900. The BMRC earned a total of ₹66 million (US$970,000) during the same period.^[22] Namma Metro posted a profit of ₹4.1 million (US$60,000) after almost one year of operating Reach I. BMRCL estimates that nearly 8 million passengers travelled on the system, in its first year of operations.^[23]

Stations

Initially, there were no toilets at Namma Metro stations, despite demand from commuters. BMRCL countered the demand by arguing that constructing toilets was not part of the metro construction plan, and that building toilets in the city was the responsibility of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). They also justified the decision by saying that commuters spent "hardly five minutes" at stations, so restrooms were not required, and also that none of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus stops in the city had toilets for passengers. However, BMRCL eventually heeded public demand, and the metro's first toilets were opened at Baiyappanahalli and Indiranagar stations on 21 June 2013.^[24]

In September 2015, it was announced that the proposed Narayanapura metro station would be removed from the network, and the proposed Krishnarajapuram metro station would be shifted by 295 metres to the west, due to difficulty in acquiring land in the area.^[25]

Yellow tactile tiles are used at all stations to guide the visually impaired. The tiles start at the ramp and lead to the staircases and lifts.^[26]

Interior of the Metro coach Interior of the Metro coach on inauguration day MG Road Station at night

Parking

Currently parking facilities are available only in Baiyyappanahalli and Swami Vivekananda Road stations. But after the completion of Phase I by mid-2016, more stations would be having parking lots. The BMRCL awarded the contract to Central Parking Services (CPS) for an annual license fee of ₹2.5 million (US$37,000).^[27] An average of 4,764 cars and 5,721 two-wheelers use parking facilities at Baiyappanahalli and SV Road stations daily.^[23]

References