Commuters on Namma Metro’s Yellow Line can expect shorter waiting times from December, with services likely to run every 12 to 13 minutes during peak hours. Reportedly, the improvement will be possible once the sixth trainset is added to the fleet by the end of November.
Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) has already dispatched the first three coaches of the new train on 17 November. The remaining three coaches are scheduled to leave the company’s plant in West Bengal on 19 November, as per a report by Deccan Herald (DH).
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All six coaches are set to cover a 2,000-kilometre road journey, reaching the Hebbagodi depot in around ten days. After arrival, engineers will couple the coaches and begin static checks at the depot. This will be followed by dynamic trials on the mainline during night hours. If testing goes as planned, the trainset should begin carrying passengers by the third or fourth week of December, the report further added.
The additional train will allow BMRCL to tighten peak-hour intervals to about 12–13 minutes. The corporation is also considering starting operations earlier than the current 6 am.
{{/usCountry}}The additional train will allow BMRCL to tighten peak-hour intervals to about 12–13 minutes. The corporation is also considering starting operations earlier than the current 6 am.
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At present, the 19.15-kilometre RV Road–Bommasandra corridor operates trains every 15 minutes during busy periods, which stretch from 8 am to noon and again from 4 pm to 9 pm. One extra train is kept ready in the afternoon as a backup.
TRSL is currently producing two more trainsets, both expected to be shipped in December. Once eight trainsets are in service, peak-hour frequency is expected to improve further to about 10 minutes, BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer BL Yashawanth Chavan said.
TRSL is manufacturing the trains under a sub-contract with CRRC Nanjing Puzhen of China, which secured a ₹1,578-crore order to build 36 trainsets for Namma Metro.
The Yellow Line, which opened on 11 August, has pushed the city’s daily ridership past the one-million mark. However, many passengers remain dissatisfied with the long wait times and the late start of services. On Monday morning, a group of commuters briefly held up the first train from RV Road, insisting that metro operations should begin earlier.