In a first, Bengaluru Metro to install platform screen doors at two existing stations

Crowd at Majestic interchange Metro station. Photo credit: X.com/@KaanjiPinji

Two existing underground Metro stations in Bengaluru will soon get platform screen doors.

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) sources told Moneycontrol that they have decided to install platform screen doors (PSDs) at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station, Majestic, and Sir M Visvesvaraya Station, Central College.

So far, officials have maintained that there were no plans to install PSDs in existing stations.

PSDs, serving as protective barriers between the platform and the tracks, play a major role in preventing incidents such as suicides and accidental falls onto the tracks. Synchronized with Metro coach doors, PSDs only open after the train comes to a complete halt. Metro corporations in Delhi and Chennai have already implemented PSDs, particularly at underground stations.

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While Majestic, the interchange of Purple and Green Lines, is the busiest station, the presence of many educational institutions and court complexes nearby increases the footfall at Central College Station. On July 3, for instance, footfall (entry, exit, and interchange) at Majestic Station was 2.2 lakh, while it was 28,591 (entry and exit) at Sir M Visvesvaraya Station, Central College, on the same day.

"We decided to install platform screen doors at these two underground stations which have high footfalls on a pilot basis. We will soon float a tender. We will provide this facility to other stations based on the response," a senior official told Moneycontrol.

In February 2024, temporary platform railings were installed at the Majestic interchange station as a temporary measure to prevent untoward incidents, as guards were struggling to manage the crowd.

He said temporary railing installed at the Majestic station provided some relief in managing the crowd, particularly during peak hours. "With PSDs coming, we will be able to easily manage the crowd, prevent passengers from jumping onto the tracks, etc."

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BMRCL officials said they will install PSDs at 12 underground stations along the Pink Line (Kalena Agrahara-Nagawara) as part of Phase 2. This is primarily aimed at reducing air conditioning costs. Meanwhile, Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited, which is executing the Bengaluru suburban rail project, has decided to install PSDs/platform edge doors at all stations from the beginning.

Rise in ridership

Bengaluru Metro officials said there is a spike in daily ridership after the crucial link between KR Pura and Byappanahalli stations as well as the extension to Challaghatta on the Purple Line has been completed.

"Whitefield Metro has increased overall ridership, and now it is touching 8 lakh most days. But we don't have adequate trains to increase the frequency of services," a senior official said.

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He said they will get rolling stock for the Purple and Green Lines by May 2025. "We had introduced short loop trains from Majestic towards the Whitefield to reduce crowding at the station."

Bengaluru Metro’s highest ridership so far was 8.2 lakh in August 2022 due to a Congress rally at National College Grounds in Basavanagudi as well as the Lalbagh flower show.

Delay in inducting trains

Metro trains on Bengaluru’s two operational lines – Purple (Challaghatta-Whitefield) and Green (Silk Institute-Nagasandra) – are overcrowded due to delays in the delivery of coaches from a Chinese company.

In December 2019, CRRC's subsidiary, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, emerged as the lowest bidder to deliver 216 new coaches. In February 2020, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) signed a contract with CRRC, and the firm was scheduled to supply all of them within 173 weeks. The first train was supposed to be delivered in 87 weeks. Of the total, 126 (21 six-coach trains) were for deployment on the Purple and Green lines. The remaining 90 coaches (15 six-coach trains) were for the Yellow Line.

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The main cause of the delay in coach delivery is attributed to the Indo-China border issue of June 2020. Although CRRC committed to manufacturing 204 of the 216 coaches at its plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, the plan did not materialise, even after conducting a groundbreaking ceremony to inaugurate its metro coach manufacturing plant in 2021.

India's decision to reduce business ties with China due to geopolitical tensions impacted CRRC, which struggled to find a local manufacturer to meet the 75 percent local production requirement mandated by the Make in India initiative. Factors such as the pandemic, the foreign direct investment policy, and restrictions on trade deals with China contributed to the delays.