Bangalore rolls ahead

So were you among those who were struck by the sight of the metro train whizzing on the elevated track between Byappanahalli depot and the CMH Road station on Monday?

Three shining steel cars coupled to make one Metro train with pink and green bands sped past the tracks at a maximum speed of 80 kmph. These were the coaches that arrived in Bangalore on October 25 from Chennai. They were earlier shipped from Busan, South Korea.

While the first five trains of Metro are to arrive from Korea, the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) will manufacture the next 150 coaches, at facilities located in Bangalore and Palakkad, Kerala.

The consortium of BEML, MELCO and Mitsubishi, Japan and Hyundai Rotem, South Korea, will however work together for the entire project. Their inspection engineers are already in town to test the first train.

Work is on in full swing on all six stations on the route. Automatic fare collecting gates, metal detectors, CCTV cameras and voice announcement systems were all readied for the trial run.

This week, the BMRCL is also expected to announce its signature tune. A competition was held for the selection of the tune, and 101 jingles were short-listed. A selection has already been made, and the contestant is fine-tuning the entry ahead of its announcement.

The flash boards at stations, and the opening and closing of the gates of the train will be announced with this tune. “Just as people associate with the signature tunes of various other brands, Metro too will have its signature tune,” said the spokesperson of BMRCL.

Metro is also making arrangements to make the commute easy for the physically challenged. Every station will be equipped with elevated tracks; there will be escalators to enter the concourse on the first floor and also to reach platforms on the second floor.

Lifts will be provided to all floors, and to the underground stations.
The flooring will enable the blind to trace the path from the entrance of the stations to the doors of the trains.

“We are also thinking of reservations of seats for physically challenged people, pregnant women and elderly citizens. The coaches already have spaces where people in wheelchairs can fit themselves, behind the driver’s motor car, so that in case of emergency, the driver can aid in rescue,” said a spokesperson of BMRCL.

The BMRCL will also have a smart card system. When a passenger swipes the card at the automatic fare collection gate, while entering and exiting, the fare for the length of the journey will be automatically deducted from the card. Smart cards for purchasing rides in the metro will be available soon at BangaloreOne centres, metro stations and major BMTC bus stations.

They can be recharged at the counters and through the internet or with an SMS. The corporation has sent 73 drivers for training to Delhi Metro Corporation. The drivers are set to arrive in Bangalore by the end of this month.

The first trains of the metro will run every four minutes. After the completion of phase 1, the carrying capacity of the three-coach train will be 1,000. Once the whole project is completed, the trains will be augmented, and each train will have six coaches, with a carrying capacity of 2,000 passengers.