Bangalore:
It was a two-kilometre test for the Bangalore Metro, and a giant one for the city.
A trial run covered the first stretch between Byapanahalli and CMH Road, suggesting that the end to a project that began in 2007 may finally be in sight.
"We need a Metro because life has become terrible in Bangalore. There are traffic jams - we sit in the traffic at least two or three hours a day. Blood pressure goes up, we all get angry and the quality of life has gone down," says Mohandas Pai, a co-founder of world-famous company Infosys.
The metro lines for the city are being planned in two phases? The goal is to connect around 42 kilometers at a cost of over 11 lakh crores.
The construction over the last three years has angered residents on different fronts - traffic jams became worse, and the amount of trees that were cut down had environmentalists worried.
Metro authorities say the first stretch of the ambitious project up to the central Mahatma Gandhi road should open to the public in early 2011.