The long-awaited Whitefield-Challaghatta Metro corridor (Purple Line) will be opened for passenger service from October 9 (Monday).
There will be no formal function to mark the opening, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) communicated to Karnataka government's Urban Development Department in a letter dated October 8 (Sunday).
"It is informed that the two sections will be formally dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister within two weeks' time in the presence of the Chief Minister of Karnataka. These two sections are vital from the perspective of commuters in Bengaluru, as both will provide seamless connectivity from the east to the west part of the city," stated the letter from MoHUA to the Additional chief secretary of the Urban Development Department, Karnataka government.
"In view of the above, these two sections of the Metro lines should be opened for passenger service immediately on the morning of October 9, 2023, without any formal or informal official function, so that daily commuters can immediately benefit from the opening of these two important sections," it said
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials said 2.1 km Byappanahalli – KR Pura and 2.05 km Kengeri – Challaghatta sections will be operational from October 9.
Confirming this at 7:20 pm on October 8, BMRCL chief public relations officer BL Yashwanth Chavan, in a release, stated that the frequency of services on the Whitefield (Kadugodi) - Pattandur Agrahara section will be 10 minutes, while it will be 5 minutes on the Pattandur Agrahara - Mysuru Road section.
He said they will operate services at a three-minute frequency during the morning peak hours on the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station, Majestic - MG Road section, and the frequency between Mysuru Road and Challaghatta will be 10 minutes.
Further, he said passenger services will commence at 5 am from all terminal stations. "The last train from Whitefield (Kadugodi) will depart at 10:45 pm, and from the rest of the terminal stations at 11:05 pm," he said.
Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) approval was granted for the Byappanahalli- KR Pura section on September 25, and clearance for Kengeri – Challaghatta was received on September 30.
While the BMRCL had planned to launch both sections on October 6 , the inauguration was pushed back due to delay in permissions from the Union and state governments .
Frustrated over the delay, passengers had launched a hashtag campaign #StartPurpleLineOperations urging the launch of both sections without any inauguration ceremony.
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Once operational, Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line will span 43.49 km (37 Metro stations), connecting Challaghatta in West Bengaluru to Whitefield (Kadugodi) in East Bengaluru. The entire Bengaluru Metro network will cover 73.81 km (66 Metro stations), making it the second-largest metro system in India after Delhi Metro's 350.2 km.
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According to BMRCL officials, journey from Challaghatta in West Bengaluru to Whitefield in East Bengaluru is estimated to take around 82 minutes by Metro, with an end-to-end journey fare fixed at Rs 60. Bengaluru Metro's daily ridership is expected to increase from the existing 6.2 lakh to 7 lakh once the Whitefield-Challaghatta corridor is launched.
On March 25, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Whitefield-KR Pura Metro section, covering a distance of 13.7 km, which now has around 35,000 daily ridership. However, the missing link between KR Pura and Byappanahalli has posed significant hardships to passengers, as they have had to rely on feeder buses.
In 2017, BMRCL awarded the civil work contract for the 15 km Byappanahalli-Whitefield stretch with a 27-month deadline. Originally scheduled for completion in 2020, the line is finally going to be operational after multiple missed deadlines.
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