Namma Metro Rail Opens in Bangalore

Namma Metro - Logo

The first metro in India's IT hub of Bangalore rolls into service on Thursday(20-10-2011), a long-delayed and over-budget project to help the city's army of commuting software engineers and call centre staff.
Bangalore Metro is a mass-transit rail system for the city of Bangalore, India.  The first stretch is between Baiyyappanahalli to M.G. Road (6.7 kilometres)

Inauguration of Namma Metro by Mr. D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Chief Minister of  Karnataka

Traffic, as in all Indian cities, has grown exponentially in recent years, making travelling to work a miserable experience for the estimated eight million inhabitants who cram into cars, rickshaws and buses.

No other city in the country has such a high ratio of vehicle-population density. This is because there is no efficient public transport system and the road infrastructure is poor.

The metro is expected to reduce the traffic volume in areas like Majestic (Kempegowda Bus station and Bangalore Railway Station), Sampige Road, Hudson Circle and M.G. Road.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) are also jointly introducing common day-pass that can be used both in metro and BMTC buses. According to a BMTC release, the Metro Bus Transit Day Pass for commuting in metro and BMTC non-air-conditioned buses is priced at Rs. 70. The Metro Bus Transit Day Pass for commuting in metro and all BMTC services except Vayu Vajra costs Rs. 110, the release said.