Namma Metro applies for safety clearance for Green Line extension

Bengaluru: Namma Metro has applied for the statutory safety inspection of the 3.14-km Green Line extension, two officials in the know said, raising hopes that the long-delayed stretch might finally open in October. 

This stretch, which includes three elevated stations at Manjunath Nagar, Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara, has been the slowest to build in Namma Metro's history due to land acquisition challenges and financial struggles faced by the contractor.

Simplex Infrastructures Limited was awarded the Rs 298.65-crore civil work contract in February 2017 with a 27-month deadline, but the project has taken over 91 months.

Maheshwar Rao M, Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), said all work had been completed, except for the statutory safety inspection. 

"We have applied for clearance (from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety). Everything else is under control. We have completed the civil work and have the rolling stock (trainsets)," he told DH. 

He is hopeful that the line could open by mid-October at the latest. 

A senior BMRCL official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the CMRS was expected to inspect the line in the coming days and give approval, subject to certain conditions, by the end of September. 

The BMRCL began signalling tests on the Green Line extension on August 12, followed by trial runs on August 17. 

The opening of this small stretch will expand the Bengaluru metro network to 76.95 km and help ease traffic congestion on the arterial Tumakuru Road. 

Among other things, it will provide connectivity to the Prestige Jindal City and the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), located right next to the Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara metro stations, respectively. 

The state government plans to build a 52.41-km metro extension from Madavara to Tumakuru.

In June, the BMRCL selected Hyderabad-based infrastructure consultancy Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers and Consultants Pvt Ltd to conduct a feasibility study of the line for Rs 1.59 crore. The report is expected by December.