As the train chugged slowly from Byappanahalli Station at 4.03 pm towards Mahatma Gandhi Station, MG Road, shoppers, commuters on the roads and children all rushed to watch.
The long-awaited trial runs of Metro began in right earnest on Sunday. As the train chugged slowly from Byappanahalli Station at 4.03 pm towards Mahatma Gandhi Station, MG Road, shoppers, commuters on the roads and children all rushed to watch.
The train’s public address system was used to full capacity, and the announcement said, “All okay here, please get on, we’re on our way…” as it halted at one station and then got ready to leave for the next, after officials had inspected work in progress. The announcements were audible outside the train.
Children were seen craning their necks out of balconies to witness the moving streak of steel. People popped their heads out of bus windows, as the train sped over MG Road. Shoppers, hearing of the train, rushed out. The crowds cheered near Cauvery Emporium junction.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) had scheduled the trial runs from January 24. Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and
Union urban development minister Kamal Nath were to inspect the tracks and the progress of work, but with the recent political gridlock in the state, those visits were put off. However, BMRCL announced that trial runs would continue as scheduled.
The train will run up and down the Reach One route for about ten weeks. Officials of the Commission for Railway Safety and BMRCL were present to conduct an inspection of Sunday’s trial run.
The train had run a partial run on this route on December 28, 2010. Officials alighted at each station to inspect work in progress. The train ran at a rather slow speed, averaging only about 25 kmph on its onward journey. (When fully operational, the train is expected to run at an average speed of 45 kmph).
It stopped at each of the stations, Ulsoor, Trinity Circle, and MG Road. It reached the MG Road terminus at 7.02 pm. The full length of the Reach One route is 7.2 km.
On its return journey, the train did not halt at any stations, and sped at about 45 kmph. Workers at the metro depot, engineers, officers of BMRCL and their families took the test ride on the train along with managing director of the BMRCL, N Sivasailam.
As the train sped above city roads at different spots, eyes popped out. One worker was heard saying, at the Trinity Station, “Aren’t you happy to see the train running, now?”
“I thought it will not carry people on its trial runs, but there were so many passengers!” exclaimed Neelam Sheshadri, a student. “So when will they let us board the metro?” she asked. The next trial run is scheduled for January 28, when the train will ply on the other track.
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