Hindu today carried a front page news item about the metro allignment on the Byp PH II extension to Whitefield. It was more a report based on renewed outcry from certain sections of public..below is the map of contention from the paper:
Please bear in mind that the above image is not to scale and the station positions are also not accurate.
But the point is was the route re-allignment to touch Hoodi junction wrong? I do not think so, by touching this junction, the allignment will cater to a huge section of residential population which is around this area.
The other point rased is that the route taking a detour into the Industrial area instead of going straight from the Hoodi junction.
I feel this is also necessary to cater to the huge IT establishments and the two major hospitals.
I see that few property owners on this route have raised voices fearing losses..but for the greater good, this allignment really makes sense, though it might add 5-10 minutes to the journey..
PLease share your thoughts!
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Not sure if anything is accomplished
I am not sure if anything concerete has been accomplished by this detour. Reasons are as follows.
1. There is solid bus service along the Whitefiled main road. So to go till Hoodi after getting down at Garudacharpalya station would not have been that difficult.
2. There is a rather sharp curve at Hoodi which possibly means speed restrictions for the metro train.
3. Proposed station for Hoodi is the Doddanekundi Ind area station which is some 300 meters from the Hoodi junction... not a terrible distance, but not small either. There is no bus service on that road section from the station to Hoodi junction.
Personally, I have a feeling that the push was by developers who want higher FAR next to the Metro line. The first petition was rejected by BMRC and then the MLA/ Minister got involved and the famous/infamous High power Committee stepped in as well.
See the map in one of the petitions here for a better idea
Whitefield needs the Metro
Whitefield needs the Metro asap. Which is why the Metro should go straight along Whitefield Road from Garudacharpalya to Hoodi to Big Bazaar and to ITPL.
Regarding the point of tech parks and 2 hospitals in the current route alignment, almost certainly the Metro will require that a portion of the tech parks and most probably Satya Sai Baba Hospital be demolished to build the Metro stations. Apart from higher price of land acquisition, it will definitely lead to protests and most probably litigation, delaying the Metro. It makes more sense for the Metro to avoid turns (which severely restrict speed) and go along a straight path as far as possible. BMTC can introduce feeder bus services from Garudacharpalya to Big Bazaar via Graphite India, iGate, Vydehi Hospital and Sai Baba Hospital. And companies can also introduce cabs to the closest stations.
Mr. Limbavalli has probably forced this re-alignment based on petitions by some large builders who wish to advertise their properties as 'Just XXX metres from Metro station'. This is definitely not in public interest.
Numbers matter
I have had first hand experience of working in ITPL and using these roads every work day and trust me this detour is needed..lemme try to address some points raised..
First its not a V turn at Hoodi jn..please look at the re-alligned route..it doesnt turn right at the junction but little before that..so speed restrictions will not be there..or at least hope BMRCL wont make the same mistakes they did on Reach 1..
The only land that will need to get acquired is around then Graphite India junction..after that it will mostly run on the road median which is quite wide..hoping they will take the exisitng HT electric lines UG..so the fear of ppl loosing property is unfounded..also if you have seen the Sathya Sai Hospital..there are large empty spaces at front which I am sure they will gladly give it the project if it comes to that..
This U turn actually will help get establishments all the way till Brook fileds and further into the catchment..
About the suggestion BMTC can introduce feeder bus services from Garudacharpalya to Big Bazaar via Graphite India, iGate, Vydehi Hospital and Sai Baba Hospital. And companies can also introduce cabs to the closest stations.
is not feasible because of sheer number of public that are expected to take the metro there..shuttles cannot suffice the need for sure1
Line needs to go through EPIP area
I agree with Sri. Line needs to go through EPIP area. Let me first state that going through EPIP benefits me since it brings it closer to where I live. However, as a resident of this area and someone who works in EPIP, I experience the sheer traffic that flows to the EPIP area every working day. While it DOES add distance and time to the commute to Whitefied (one could ask why the line goes towards Kadugodi and not towards Whitefield?), this move also serves a large working population. There is a large median in the EPIP area which can make the mero work much simpler with utility shifting.
The only party I was not sure of is whether the extension to Hoodi is worthwhile.
I believe this detour is
I believe this detour is thoroughly unwarranted.
Even in the original plan, the Metro was going through the EPIP area. As shown in the map, the blue line is the original plan, and the orange line is the reallignment. Even if you want to cover the EPIP area, the blue line covers it.
The orange line, which is the reallignment which happened after Limbavalli's request, adds to the route length, increases the metro cost by a lot, adds to the travel time, and has an accute angle at Hoodi junction, which I believe should have been avoided at all costs.
@srinidhi.. according to the new plan, the turn does not happen little before the signal. The turn little before the signal was if it took the road next to ESI, according to the original plan.
here is the new allignment..
map extract from the BMRCL document:
as can be seen it does not touch hoodi circle..it has avided the hevy industry area to touch residential areas..theres no harm there..however as Sanjay mentions the Doddanekundi station could have been closer to hoodi circle, if at all!
Hi-powered Indeed!
Not sure where the need was to realign this route section? After all, the route is still planned to return back along the same road in both cases (with detour to cover EPIP area). Buses /IPTs running along whitefield main rd can easily cater to commuters from Hoodi jn to metro station/s on both sides - & further too, in each direction.
So, this merry-go-round just to cover Hoodi jn appears a waste (it adds over a km to route length) & also increases commuting time for through passengers - all this with Hoodi jn stn positioned over 0.5km from it! So, the benefit from this re-alignment may just be marginal, even if people walk the distance to the station in preference to buses that can be run on the main road itself. BMRC seems to have given in to HPC's diktat.