Bengaluru’s roads, already heaving under heavy traffic, have become even more congested since the work on the Metro Rail began, with the elevated tracks and massive stations occupying a good amount of space. It may be all worth it if Namma Metro begins operations and the city gets the rapid mass transport system it badly needs to take the pressure off its roads. While the Metro Rail authorities promise to have Phase I completed by December 2013 there is worry that the litigation over land acquisition and various unresolved issues could push the deadline further, leaving the city in the mess it is today for a lot longer.

While the state and Union governments are both stakeholders in the project, sharing its cost on a 50-50 basis, no special concessions are being made for it, which is resulting in delays on various stretches of Phase-1. The state government which can take speedy decisions to tackle issues delaying Namma Metro and help the project pick up pace, is sadly doing nothing of the sort.

For instance work on the underground stretch is proving a problem and has already delayed the project by a few months. While the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) waits for the formal approval from the state government to shift the Dr. Ambedkar statue in the grounds of the Vidhana Soudha, work on the Metro on this stretch is already six months behind schedule. With the shifting of the statue having attracted controversy in the past, the government is clearly reluctant to take a hasty decision on its relocation.

But it may not be possible for the authorities to delay it very long as the statue will have to be shifted before September when the tunnel boring machine from the Metro station at Central College is expected to reach the Vidhana Soudha station, going by BMRCL managing director, N. Sivasailam.

There could be another hold up too. Although the BMRCL assures the lines along Phase-1 will be ready and trains can use the interchange Majestic station by December 2013, they will not be able to halt at this strategic station as the work on completing it could take three or four months more.

Phase 1 problems will not deter Phase 2
The launch of Phase 1 of Namma Metro may still be a long way away but this is unlikely to hold up work on Phase 2. The urban development ministry has assured work will begin on four extensions and two new lines of Phase 2 by the second half of 2012. This phase will see the longest tunnel of the country, covering over 13 kms, pass under some of the busiest localities of the city, including its IT corridors.

Taking note of the delays caused in Phase I, BMRCL has decided to go underground in the more busy areas of the city in the second phase, hoping to avoid problems associated with land acquisition and demolition of structures which have cost too much in the former. “Cost of land acquisition in the busier parts of the city and the IT corridors is very high and so we have opted to go underground in these areas. The tunnel in Phase-2 will be in the 21.25 km Gottigere- Nagavara stretch, which will have 18 stations, six elevated and 11 underground,” says managing director of BMRCL, N. Sivasailam.

Phase-2 is expected to take five years to complete from the date of approval, February 21, 2012. It has been planned mainly to decongest the IT corridors that see heavy traffic on the roads during peak hours. Areas such as those around Central Silk Board, the Bannerghatta Road, and ITPL are expected to see tremendous change in six years when it is ready for operation.

“It will bring about a total transformation of the city’s urban transportation scenario. The Metro network will be capable of carrying 14.80 lakh passengers per day in the year 2017-18 and will considerably reduce traffic congestion,” says a Metro official.