BMRCL

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation’s survey for Cantonment metro station has created panic among the residents of Maangalya apartments in Benson Town. In part 1 of this story, Citizen Matters had reported that the mid-tunnel shaft between Cantonment and Pottery Town stations will come up at Maangalya apartment site, if Cantonment metro station is built at its original location as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The shaft is needed because the length of this stretch would be above 1.5 kms. The DPR had mentioned a specific location for the metro station — right opposite Cantonment railway station’s main entrance, under…

As the controversy on the location of the upcoming Cantonment metro station continues, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) has left many questions unanswered. While a citizens’ group has been demanding metro station right in front of the railway station where it was planned originally,  another is demanding it at the alternate location proposed by BMRC, at Bamboo Bazaar. With BMRC refusing to answer questions raised by citizens and the media, the suspense remains. Cantonment metro station was originally supposed to come up right opposite the Cantonment railway station, under its parking lot, as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for…

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is facing the public ire on the integration of Metro stations with other modes of transport. But this is not the only issue troubling the city's fastest public transport provider. Amith Pallavoor Subramaniam, a Citizen Matters reader, writes: During peak hours, Metro trains are packed, and the insolent home guards push commuters like sardines. A disaster like Elphinstone is waiting to happen. Some of the issues where BMRCL could learn from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai's local trains and Metro: (1) Run trains till midnight: Kindly note that Bengaluru is no longer the provincial town of…

Did you know that if you live or rent a premise in the corridor of Metro Phase-II and next phases, you could avail many compensations when the land acquisition goes on and the construction work starts? Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) Ltd has come up with the new Resettlement Policy Framework for land acquisition, which is in line with amended land acquisition policy-2013. Extract of the section that explains some interesting components of compensation, from the BMRCL document: Inconvenience Allowance: This is a onetime allowance paid to all project affected persons losing structure and land, for the inconvenience caused due…

Finally, the first phase of Bengaluru Metro is going to be fully functional on June 18th 2017, with the inauguration of final leg running from Swastik station to Yelachenahalli to be done on June 17th, by the President of India. That’s a major relief for many people, including me! I'm a new entrant to the Metro User Club, and a skeptic-turned-admirer. It all started with me waiting in the bus stop in front of Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic College, for a BMTC bus to take me to Kempegowda Bus Station, and not seeing a single bus for 10 minutes. Spending more than…

Metro has sought public input on which of the different lines - existing as well as proposed - should be extended to the airport. I'm sure many people will give their input, but there are two other aspects to look at. (1) We should conduct extensive surveys - ongoing - at the airport to always know where people are going to when they arrive, and where they are coming from to the airport. We don't need to collect anything other than the names of the neighbourhoods where trips originate and end. A map of this, updated every few months, will…

During the cabinet meeting last week, the State government decided to give a green signal to the metro rail project on Outer Ring Road (ORR), pushing aside the long pending ambitious Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) project; hopes of citizens who were rooting for BRTS or multimodal transport options were dashed. Though the proposal to introduce BRTS on the Outer Ring Road was hanging in balance for quite sometime, the plan to lay a metro line on the busy stretch has eliminated the possibility of BRTS. So why did BRTS, which was first conceptualised in 2012 and had a Detailed…

The Metro is a convenient mode of transportation. But, once an individual gets off the metro, he/she needs to figure how to complete the last leg of the commute. Getting an auto can be a hassle and walking might also not be convenient. Instead, what if they could cover the rest of the distance on their own bicycle? While that sounds like a great idea, think about this: Are cycles even allowed on the metro? BMRCL only allows foldable cycles that fit through the baggage scanner. So, a majority of cyclists cannot take their cycles on the metro. Cycling enthusiasts…

Here's a message that I received at 8.45 pm on Feb 20th 2016. Public meeting has been organised on 21st Feb at BMRCL office Shanthinagarat 11 am in connection with Constructn of Metro station in LaxmanRao park area.Pl attend.Srinivas, Chief Engineer, BMRCL  If citizens are told at 8.45 pm (that, too, by email, which they may not see on a Saturday evening) that there is to be a public meeting the next morning (Sunday) at 11 am, how many of them can turn up? Sundays are planned with family or hobbies in mind, well in advance. Can BMRCL not give citizens a few days' notice when a…

A fortnight back I had to go to M G Road in Bengaluru for some urgent work in the middle of a week day. As anyone living in the Whitefield suburbs will testify, it can take anywhere between one to two hours to do so, maybe even more! However this is not a rant about the situation of our roads or traffic. I decided to shorten my commute time by taking the Metro from Baiyappanahalli Metro station to M G Road. Upon arriving at the Baiyappanahalli Metro station, much to my horror I found that all the parking slots were…