The city’s residents may have to wait longer than expected for ‘Namma Metro’ (or ‘Our Metro’, as the city’s local train service is branding itself) because of legal hurdles the Bangalore Metro Rail Corp. Ltd faces.

Executives at the corporation say that while they think they can complete the project by 31 December 2011, lawsuits could make them miss the deadline. There are eight writ petitions against the Rs6,395 crore project in the courts currently, BMRCL executives say. Some petitions have been filed by those whose land has been acquired for the project, while some demand a complete change of the planned route.

Metro Rail compensation package ready
BMRC has completed the tedious task of valuation of properties in reach one of the ‘Namma Metro’ project and is all set to commence award of compensation to land losers during the first week of November, V Nagendra, Executive Director (Administration) BMRC told Deccan Herald.

Work on Metro Rail project picks up
Come November, the Metro Rail project will enter a more visible phase. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) will begin erecting piers above the ground level on M G Road. However, the work along Old Madras Road is bound to suffer a delay of four weeks due to a litigation pending before the Supreme Court over land acquisition.

The Metro Rail in Bangalore is unlikely to affect the stability of heritage structures in the city, as the project has been planned in compliance with German standards, said B S Sudhir Chandra, director (project and planning), Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited.

The Karnataka government is planning to build a Rs 1,000 crore check-in facility at Bangalore and 28-km-long mono-rail link to Devanahalli International Airport, State PWD Minister H D Revanna said here today.

Talking to newspersons here, the Minister said the check-in facility would be from Parade Grounds in Mysore road to Devanahalli and the state government was seeking the help of Urban Development Ministry to provide the land acquisition costs.

An international consortium, led by RITES, has been awarded a Rs 215 crore project for providing 'General Consultancy Services' for the implementation of Bangalore Metro Project Phase 1.

The other constituents of the Consortium of RITES Ltd. are PCI (Japan), PBI (US) and SYSTRA (France).

Pushed into action by criticism from the Union civil aviation ministry, the state moved one step forward towards constructing a rail link from the city to the Bangalore International Airport site at Devanahalli.

To cater to international standards and also to avoid traffic problems, the state government has proposed to run a high-speed elevated train from MG Road to the under-construction airport in two years. The airport itself will be operational next year, from April.

We tried our best to protect the trees. But 16 trees have to be removed as they come in the way of the alignment. More importantly, they have to be cut in the interest of safety of the train.

As the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd gears up for a mid-April start of work on the 7-km first stretch (Reach 1, as it has been baptised) between MG Road and Byappanahalli, the promise of recreating an at-grade walkway, beneath the elevated stretch, has also been made.

The Karnataka High Court on April 9, 2007 exempted the Metro rail project from a stay order on land acquisition. The High Court had earlier stayed KIADB land acquisitions in Bangalore Urban and Rural districts. The court, however, has now permitted KIADB to acquire land for Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) without any further delay.

The implementation of proposed Metro rail and Mono rail may happen simultaneously, if the pace at which the Karnatak government is pushing the latter is anything to go by. "The Mono rail project consultant, which is likely to be in place in a fortnight's time, will submit a detailed project report in 2 months. Based on the report, the project will be taken up. In all probability, the Mono rail work will start by this year-end," official sources in Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation told sources.

This April 15, the serene oasis in the midst of the bustling heart of the city, the elevated pathway on MG Road will be pulled down for the Metro Rail infrastructure project. This pathway will be repositioned after the completion of works and will be restored at the road level. "The pathway will be pulled down on April 15 and will be restored after the completion of works on this stretch, which is scheduled for March 2008. However, it will be repositioned," said MD, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, V Madhu.

The physical map of M G Road is all set to change. The famous promenade, the walking strip and fully grown trees will make way for the biggest infrastructure project in Bangalore, the Metro Rail.

The Metro Rail facility will be extended to the new areas of Greater Bangalore — 7 CMCs and one TMC.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday told the legislative council that the Metro Rail route, which was originally planned for erstwhile BMP would be extended further.

Former additional CS and honorary president of the forum Chiranjeev Singh said that Bangalore city is getting worse day by day. Jnanapeeth awardee U R Ananthamurthy on Sunday said that urban development will not be complete if problems of aged and children are not addressed properly.

Get set for the hum of Metro Rail activity in Bangalore with work on the Rs 6,395-crore project commencing from the Chinnaswamy Stadium (near Kumble Circle) to Byappanahalli terminal in all probability on February 3.

Does anybody remember Mono Rail? The same that was supposed to chug off paper, circa August 15, 2006? The train for which JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda was batting for?

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation on Wednesday began shifting of utility lines at Indiranagar for the metro rail project under police protection. Low-tension power lines at Indiranagar 100-Feet Road-Old Madras Road junction were shifted by BMRCL officials in co-operation with Bangalore Electricity Supply Company. Interestingly, there was no resistance from shop owners on CMH Road, who do not want the metro rail to pass through the road. “We had no problem carrying out the work. Police protection was sought as a precautionary measure. Work on shifting utility lines on CMH will also be taken up shortly,” BMRCL Superintending Engineer (Electrical) Yeshwanth Chavan told Deccan Herald.

Ground activity and action on the Metro Rail front made its presence felt adjacent to the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Cubbon Road in the City on Tuesday.

A report prepared for the Asian Development Bank-assisted North Karnataka Urban Sector Investment Project (NKUSIP) has suggested setting up of metro rail for Hubli-Dharwad, the largest urban centre in the state after Bangalore.

People’s resistance - flyovers and underpasses in the city have faced it, it’s the turn of Metro Rail now. Residents, shop owners and shop keepers along the Chinmaya Mission Hospital Road in Indiranagar on Monday resorted to relay hunger-strike demanding that the government should give due consideration to their concerns before going ahead with the Metro Rail Project.

The State government’s decision, to stick to the proposed alignment of the Bangalore Metro, has not gone down well with residents and traders who are being affected by the project.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said that the State government would give priority to both metro and mono rails, on Friday. “Mono rail will be the feeder system for the metro. Work is progressing in this regard, and global tenders will be called for soon,” he said. The mono rail project is presently being handled by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation. Four corridors have been proposed, based on an interim traffic report prepared by RITES.

The Rs 6,395-crore Bangalore Metro Rail project will not be scrapped. The government has accepted the Justice Shivshankar Bhat Committee report, which recommended that the project will go along the CMH Road alignment, CM H D Kumaraswamy said on Friday.

Mono Rail, a complementary feeder system, is threatening to become a cog in the wheel for the Bangalore Metro Rail project.

For the famed Metro Rail to chug along Byappanahalli to Mysore Road via MG Road, some 1,500 families will have to make way. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) has come up with a comprehensive list of number of families that would be affected by the project.

The foundation may have been laid by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday, but do not expect the Bangalore Metro barricades and trenching work to begin on Monday itself. A “month and a week” is the time given by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) Managing Director V Madhu to begin civil works. “We had called for tenders regarding shifting of public utilities, design of Byapannahalli depot and stations. The process of selecting tenders is still on and will be concluded in a month’s time. We will be ready to begin works by August,” Madhu said.

Bogged down by concerns over of financial feasibility, project viability and gauge selection, the Bangalore Metro Rail Project, proposed for the burgeoning technopolis of the country, will make a ground start tomorrow when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lays the foundation stone for the first phase of the project.

Finally there is some hope for the Bangalore Metro Rail project. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay foundation stone for the project on June 24 at 3.30 pm.

Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy today said there was no need for private participation in the proposed Bangalore Metro Rail project as a Special Purpose Vehicle involving both the Union and State Governments would implement it.

After years of delay the Bangalore Metro Rail project is finally set to take off with the Centre giving the go ahead signal to the Rs 63.95 billion venture.

As Bangalore continues to debate on the Monorail, a presentation on Friday by a specialist transport solutions company on monorail downplayed the Metro or Mono question.

Another big ticket infrastructure project has just been finalised to ease Bangalore's traffic woes. In what's seen as a gift to Bangaloreans, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday gave the nod for the Monorail project, whose work will begin on August 15.

Nine general consultants are in the race to bag the contract for developing the design and constructing the Bangalore Metro Rail. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) is scrutinising the documents submitted by the nine consultants, including one by Rail India Tecno and Economic Services (RITES).

Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy today said the Centre had not granted Custom Duty exemption on the import of equipment for execution of the Bangalore Metro project but it would be getting a 'subordinate debt' to offset the losses suffered because of denial of duty exemption.

The Union Cabinet today approved 33 km long Bangalore Metro project at the current costs of Rs 5,453 crore for providing a reliable safe, energy efficient comfortable and affordable mass transit system.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for having accorded Cabinet clearance for the much-awaited Bangalore Metro Rail project.