B’luru traffic situation very serious; metro must be scaled up, says JICA India chief

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been funding public infrastructure projects in India and other developing countries. It is one of the key funding agencies for Namma Metro, too. 

JICA provided 64,536 million Japanese Yen in Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans for Phase 1 and 52,036 million JPY for Phases 2, 2A and 2B. Namma Metro is currently spending the funds to procure 318 coaches and install platform screen doors. 

On Wednesday, JICA India’s chief representative Saito Mitsunori called upon BMRCL officials and evaluated the progress of the metro work.

In an interview with DH, Mitsunori spoke about JICA’s funding for the Bengaluru metro and other infrastructure projects. 

What projects has JICA funded in Bengaluru? 

JICA has been funding public transportation and infrastructure projects in India. We started funding the Delhi Metro in the 1990s. Bengaluru was the second metro network we funded. We have also funded metro systems in Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. We are funding the Patna metro, too. 

Besides the metro, we have funded the BWSSB’s water and sanitation projects in Bengaluru, and the Advance Traffic Information and Management System. 

What was your first impression of the Bengaluru metro? 

We travelled on the metro train from Majestic to MG Road. The Bengaluru metro is one of the best I have seen in India. The trains are clean and very well-maintained. It’s something that the city should be proud of because that’s not what you would see in many cities in your country. Another thing we noticed in the Bengaluru metro was that people usually queue up before boarding the train. They are disciplined. That’s very impressive. 

How did you find the traffic situation in Bengaluru? 

The traffic situation in Bengaluru looks very serious and needs interventions. The city needs to scale up its public transportation systems, including the metro. At JICA, we are ready to fund future networks in Bengaluru. But this depends on the agreement between the governments of India and Japan. 

Yellow Line coaches by Nov 

The first prototype trainset for the Yellow Line will arrive from China only in November, a senior BMRCL official said on Wednesday. 

In December 2019, Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC won a contract to supply 216 coaches to Namma Metro with the condition that it make 75% of the components in India. After initially failing to find a local partner, CRRC partnered with the Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons to manufacture the coaches in Bengal. CRRC will supply 12 coaches from China, while the rest will be manufactured in India. Two prototype trainsets were scheduled to arrive in August/September, but have been delayed further, the official confirmed. 

The BMRCL can open the 19.5-km Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra) only after it receives the trains and puts them to testing. 

Bangalore South MP, LS Tejasvi Surya, who inspected the Yellow Line on Wednesday, said the first trainset would arrive in November and the second in January. He added that six trainsets were needed to start commercial operations on the Yellow Line. 

Surya said that 95% of the work on 15 of the 16 stations of the Yellow Line had been completed. Quoting BMRCL officials, he said the remaining 5% of the work pertaining to electrical and signalling would be over by December 31, 2023. He exuded confidence that the Yellow Line would open by February 2024.

'Ready to open metro links on a day's notice'

A senior BMRCL official said all work on the Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura and Kengeri-Challaghatta metro lines had been completed. 

"Since the metro is a joint venture of the central and state governments, it's up to them to decide when they want to open the lines. We can open them even on a day's notice," the official added. 

Cut-off box - Yellow Line coaches by Nov  The first prototype trainset for the Yellow Line will arrive from China only in November a senior BMRCL official said on Wednesday.  In December 2019 Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC won a contract to supply 216 coaches to Namma Metro with the condition that it make 75% of the components in India. After initially failing to find a local partner CRRC partnered with the Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons to manufacture the coaches in Bengal. CRRC will supply 12 coaches from China while the rest will be manufactured in India. Two prototype trainsets were scheduled to arrive in August/September but have been delayed further the official confirmed.  The BMRCL can open the 19.5-km Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra) only after it receives the trains and puts them to testing.  Bangalore South MP LS Tejasvi Surya who inspected the Yellow Line on Wednesday said the first trainset would arrive in November and the second in January. He added that six trainsets were needed to start commercial operations on the Yellow Line.  Surya said that 95% of the work on 15 of the 16 stations of the Yellow Line had been completed. Quoting BMRCL officials he said the remaining 5% of the work pertaining to electrical and signalling would be over by December 31 2023. He exuded confidence that the Yellow Line would open by February 2024.