Bangalore Metro: Love at first sight!

Bangalore: After a long wait, finally, the city's tryst with the Metro began with around 50,000 people turning up to witness the historic moment.

Thousands thronged the MG Road station to take a ride on the Metro after the service was inaugurated yesterday. Union minister Veerappa Moily, Sudha Murthy and Biocon CEO Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

As curious crowds made a beeline at all six stations to take a Metro ride on the first day, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) earned a whopping Rs 14.7 lakh in revenue.

Mending losses
The overwhelming response from the public would bring a respite for the BMRCL, which has been under fire for delaying the project by 584 days and subject the Bangalore Metro to a loss of over Rs 29.20 crore.

According to metro officials, if the craze for the metro continues like this, the BMRCL may be able to generate good revenue soon and compensate for the losses incurred. "We were anticipating a good crowd response.

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However, today's turnout was much more than what we had anticipated. Particularly, with the festive weekend approaching now, we are sure that we will be able to attract even more crowd," said B L Y Chavan, spokesperson, BMRCL.

Metro's for all
Bangaloreans from various corners of the city made it for the Metro ride just to experience and have fun in the Metro.

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"We just wanted to experience the Metro service and have some fun with our old friends. Even though they are yet to finish other stretches of the Metro, this is a welcome start.

The city has taken its first step towards realising its metro dream," said S Gangadhar, Retired Army Officer, who came all the way from Domlur along with his friends.

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MiD DAY did a round of all six Metro stations and found that Bangaloreans of every age group were equally excited about the Metro. Many auto rickshaw and BMTC drivers also took a ride.

Metro officials claim that if the craze for Metro continues like this, the BMRCL may be able to generate good revenue soon and compensate for the losses incurred

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As per an official responsible for Metro ticketing, each station within the first the first few hours, earned over Rs 50,000.

"Every hour of the day, we have had over 2,000 commuters coming at each station. However, we witnessed more footfall at MG Road station than any other stations," J Prakash, a BMRCL ticketing official.

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The Metro is now looking at finishing its others stretches at the earliest. "Next we want to ensure timely execution of other reaches," added B L Y Chavan, spokesperson, BMRCL.