BANGALORE (Metro Rail News): The first trial run of a six-coach train between Whitefield Depot and Pattandur Agrahara (ITPL) Station was successfully completed on 21st October. The start of the trial is very important because it is 3.5-km long, which includes four stops, and is a component of Bengaluru Metro’s Phase- II of the Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield line. Employees of IT companies have been anxiously awaiting its launch for years.
50 individuals, including employees of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), which provided BMRCL with the new coaches boarded the train.
“We began the trial run at 12.20pm from Whitefield depot and ended it at 1.40pm, running at a speed of 15km per hour. It was a smooth ride, the track was done well and we had no issues,” said BMRCL MD Anjum Parwez, travelling on the debut run with N M Dhoke, Director of Rolling Stock, Electrical and Operations & Maintenance, and Jitendra Jha, Project Manager, Rolling Stock.
Parwez said, “The full train was dragged for a distance of 100 metres from the starting point of the depot on a massive trailer as the third rail (750V power line) is located a bit far for safety reasons. The train took the upward ramp from the depot to Whitefield station. We crossed Channasandra and Kadugodi stations before terminating at ITPL.
Parwez said the trials will gradually touch Garudacharpalya, and will be over by February 2023, after which the CMRS processes will be done. “We will then discuss with the government and take a call on whether this stretch alone can be made operational or we will launch the entire line. Simultaneously, work on the pending portion from K R Puram to Baiyappanahalli will be done,” he said.
