Namma Metro conducted a trial run on the 2.1-kilometre section between Baiyappanahalli and KR Pura in eastern Bengaluru on Wednesday as part of its efforts to connect Whitefield with the central business district and the western suburbs.
The first train on this section left KR Pura at 6.04 pm, dawdling through Benniganahalli and reaching Baiyappanahalli before making its way back, according to B L Yashavanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
The trial run followed the charging of the third rail, which provides traction for metro trains. "We will test other parameters from Thursday onwards. We couldn't do that today because of continuous rainfall," he told DH.
A team of engineers from the BMRCL's systems and rolling stock departments boarded the train that chugged at a leisurely speed of 10 kmph.
A S Shankar, Executive Director (Operations and Maintenance), BMRCL, said many more trial runs would be carried out over the next month before the statutory inspection.
The official added that multiple train runs were required to test the system, make corrections and fill gaps, if any. The train will run at various speeds, including 80 kmph, he said.
The Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura section is part of the Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield route under the Reach 1 extension of the Purple Line. Its opening was delayed by the installation of an open web girder across the Indian Railway track at Benniganahalli. The BMRCL opened the 13.7-km-long KR Pura-Whitefield section in March, cutting it off from the rest of the city's metro network.
The Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura section has only one station in-between at Benniganahalli (Tin Factory) and will help connect Whitefield with MG Road, Vidhana Soudha, Majestic and Mysuru Road.
The Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura section is part of the Purple Line, which is currently 39.3 km long and connects Kengeri with Baiyappanahalli. The BMRCL has also planned trial runs on the 1.9-km Kengeri-Chellaghatta section at the western end. Once both the Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura and Kengeri-Chellaghatta sections open by August-end, the Purple Line will become 43.3 km long.
A senior official in charge of the Whitefield line said all civil and systems work related to train movements had been completed between Baiyapanahalli and KR Pura. Only some external finishing and painting works are going on at the Benniganahalli metro station. These works will be completed by the first week of August, he added.
The BMRCL plans to invite the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) to inspect the Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura and Kengeri-Chellaghatta lines in the third week of August. The CMRS inspection will take a day or two at most.
The two lines are likely to be opened to the public by August-end depending on VVIPs' availability.
The Chellaghatta-Whitefield Purple Line is expected to help increase metro ridership to 8 lakh per day from 6.5 lakh.