The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has made significant design changes in order to ensure there is adequate space for bus bays, auto stands and even rental bikes at the new stations. There won’t be restaurants or commercial establishments on the ground floor of the new Metro stations planned on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
“Metro is a non-motorised transport project as much an engineering project. The success of the Metro projects depends on how easy it is for people to access it. The new Metro stations are designed keeping in mind the convenience of commuters and pedestrians. This is done based on our experience in Phase I and Phase II,” Ajay Seth, Managing Director at BMRCL said.
Bus bays, auto stands and wherever possible a place for cabs and rental bikes are being made an integral part of all the 30 stations coming up on the 19 km ORR Metro Corridor up to the airport. Such provisions were not made while designing both Phase I and Phase II stations, which had resulted in huge traffic bottlenecks outside many stations including MG Road, Trinity Circle, Indiranagar etc.
Though there was adequate space outside stations such as Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, Central College and Baiyappanahalli, as it was not designed, buses, cabs and autos would end up stopping on the road waiting for passengers, thereby blocking the movement of other vehicles.
Officials said the BMRCL had come up with a design challenge for architects before finalising on the station plan. “We will not be providing commercial space on the ground floor. Provision will be made on the concourse level where permission for certain types of commercial establishments will be given,” Seth explained.
In the future, the Metro stations will also provide foot-over-bridges to people who want to only cross the road and do not want to use the Metro services. The facility will be available in about 30 stations of Phase I and all the upcoming stations.
“We are making minor changes in the stations. The baggage scanner and the frisking facility will be shifted from the entrance of the station to the concourse area, closer to the automated fare collection gates. This allows pedestrians to cross the road without unnecessarily going through security checkpoints,” a senior BMRCL official said.