Bangalore: It has beena year since the much-hyped and awaited Bangalore Metro began commercialoperations in the city. Running across a seven-kilometre stretch between thecentral Mahatma Gandhi road and Byapanahalli in the east, the metro ferriesaround 22,000 passengers daily and has to some extent, eased the pressure off thenotorious traffic situation in the city.
Now, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation - the nodal body for the project inthe city - is hoping that the northern and southern stretches in the city willbe ready for use by the second half of 2013. This entails another 35 kilometresof connectivity, with nine kilometres running underground. The entire projectis budgeted at Rs 11,600 crore.
Plans are also afoot for a metro rail connection to the Bangalore InternationalAirport which would cost an estimated Rs 5000 crore.
Built at a cost of Rs 1,540 crore, that took a little over four years, theBangalore Metro currently sees earnings of over Rs 11 crore per day. Presently,the elevated trains that link the city centre to eastern suburbs run from 6 amto 11 pm. Trains are scheduled every ten minutes in peak hours. The cost for aone-way ticket is Rs. 15.