The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Saturday, August 12, started conducting a load test of the Open Web Girder (OWG), which was launched above the track of the Indian Railways between Baiyappanahalli and Benniganahalli metro stations.
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On Saturday, for around three and a half hours a six-coach train loaded with sandbags, simulating full passenger capacity, was stationed at the OWG to ensure structural stability, according to Namma Metro officials.
Speaking To The Hindu, Jitendra Jha, Project Manager, Rolling Stock, BMRCL said, “We have started the load testing on the OWG near Benniganahalli from Saturday and it will continue till 19 August. The testing cycle is for seven days. We will conduct the load test by stationing two trains of six coaches on the tracks of the OWG.”
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“Load testing is one of the important requirements to clear the test of the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). All the tests between the K.R. Pura and Baiyappanahalli metro stations are likely to be completed by August 28, including signalling test which we are doing parallelly,” Mr. Jha explained.
On March 25, just before the announcement of dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the metro line from K.R. Pura to Whitefield, covering a distance of 13.71 km. The line has 12 stations under Phase II of Namma Metro. However, a stretch of close to 2 km could not be opened due to pending work.
The South Western Railway (SWR) gave BMRCL clearance to erect an OWG over the railway track near Benniganahalli in east Bengaluru as per the guidelines laid down by the Indian Railway Schedule of Dimensions and AC Traction Manual. The work was executed by the BMRCL under railway supervision.
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“The OWG will provide a link to Baiyappanahalli depot as well as the station. It was a complex operation as it was being carried out across a busy railway track,” a senior BMRCL official said,
Under Phase II, BMRCL is erecting such a huge structure across a busy railway track for the first time. In the past, the BMRCL faced several hurdles in carrying out work on Phase II. One of them was a steep hike in steel prices on account of the Russia-Ukraine war.
BMRCL fails to meet deadline
Previously, the BMRCL had set an August-end deadline to complete the works on the missing 2 km segment. However, sources within the BMRCL informed The Hindu that the metro line might not be operational until September.
Due to the missing link, metro passengers are forced to use a feeder service for a distance of 5 km to reach K.R. Puram after getting down at Baiyappanahalli. Feeder services run by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are being utilised by up to 8,000 passengers every day.
Close to 27,000 passengers are using the new K.R. Pura to Whitefield metro line. A major jump in patronage is expected only after the BMRCL opens the entire 15.5-km metro line.