Friday, October 21, 2011

Reach 1 of Bangalore Metro rolls out

Bangalore for long had wanted the Metro. It started smoothly and later went on a rough patch. With 3 deadlines finally passed reach -1 of Phase-1 was opened for public on Oct 20th 2011. It is 3rd in the country to have a system of this kind and on par with international standards as far as tracks, coaches, signalling is concerned. The excitement that was visible when Delhi metro first started was similarly visible even in Bangalore. I still remember when I boarded the first metro of Delhi - the red line - I was wondering if I was indeed in India !!!

Bangalore Metro is South India's first metro. This has made the people of Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad even more restless and are eagerly waiting for their own metros to be completed.

If the excitement and the way people thronged the stations is an indication of anything then it is the rising expectations of the people who are desperate to see how the other parts of the Metro completely finish without missing deadlines.










The stops, the frequency, timings are given below:

The fares are as below:

However, some of the salient features include:


  • Improved sign boards and clear display of information at the station and inside the train.







Flip side:

Train frequency is 15 min (it will be reduced eventually depending upon the demand)
Metro will not reduce traffic congestion drastically (may be 10-20% reduction) and it is too much to expect that given the fact that Delhi, London, Tokyo continue to experience traffic issues and overcrowded trains
At least until the metro is completely over one cannot expect any changes.























Pic courtesy" skyscrapercity, google, youtube, timesofIndia
Feeder buses:
The places where feeder buses serve is in the chart below:




There are lots of questions which can be answered slowly over time. Will Metro be maintained clean? Will there be sufficient patrol of it like in the Delhi Metro? How frequently will the train develop technical snags? Will the escalators work all the time and if it needs maintenance how quickly will be repaired? Will the feeder buses which pick up and drop to nearby areas work correctly and effectively?