BENGALURU: The much-awaited eastern extension line of Bengaluru Metro, from Whitefield Kadugodi to KR Puram, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. With the addition of this 13.71-km stretch with 12 stations, Bengaluru Metro has 69.66 km connectivity with 63 stations, making it the second largest network in the country after Delhi Metro.
The Rs 4,249-crore project will reduce the travel time between Whitefield and KR Puram to 22 minutes and is expected to have an incremental ridership of 1.5 lakh. Metro security personnel had a tough time persuading the passengers, who arrived at the station in large numbers to travel on this route, to come on Sunday when the line will be open to the public.
When work on the crucial stretch of 2.1 km from K R Puram to Baiyappanahalli is completed by mid-year, it is likely to benefit over 5 lakh Bengalureans working in IT Parks, malls, hospitals and Fortune 500 companies.
Modi also inaugurated the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which allows people to use multiple modes of transport across the country and make purchases.
After a quick stroll through the station where installations depicting the history of BMRCL, underground tunnelling work and other landmark events were displayed, Modi went to the ticket counter and collected his NCMC card.
It was a moment of joy for Metro staffer Bharati S Iyer, who handed the NCMC card to Modi. The PM produced it at the Automatic Fare Collection gate at Kadugodi station before boarding the train at 1.17 pm from Platform 1 to Sri Sathya Sai Hospital station 4 km away.
It was a trip to cherish for seven class IX and X students of government schools in the vicinity. They were on Coach 2 with the PM who eagerly interacted with them. Modi also interacted with contract workers who built the line, BMRCL women engineers, train operators and other Metro staffers. Train operator P Priyanka piloted the train with nearly 175 passengers, including VIPs Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
