BANGALORE: The much-awaited Bangalore Metro rail, popularly known as Namma Metro, might start chugging on Reach 1 from Byappanahalli to MG Road station by September 25, provided the commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) gives safety clearance certificate in the next 15 days.Unlike the earlier deadlines, the state government is confident of meeting its new deadline, as the CRS is sending its team for the crucial safety inspection of Bangalore Metro on September 6. The certification from CRS is a must to start metro rail operations.“The CRS team is coming to Bangalore on September 6 and it will conduct safety tests till September 9. We are expecting to get the safety certificate in 4-5 days after the test. Once we get the certificate, will fix the date for inauguration.It is most likely to happen before September 25,” Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said after releasing the metro travel cards here at Vidhan Soudha on Friday.However, Gowda refused to commit on a particular date for the inauguration.Gowda said that he has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had laid the foundation for Metro in 2006, to inaugurate.METRO TRAVEL CARDSBangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has introduced travel cards for passengers to ensure hassle-free travelling in the metro rail.People can purchase these cards by paying Rs 100 (Rs 50 for cards which is not refundable and Rs 50 for currency) at all the Bangalore Metro stations from Saturday from 8 am to 8pm.People can also purchase cards online by visiting the BMRCL website: www.bmrcl.co.in.These cards can be recharged at metro stations, through all Airtel retail outlets and also through the BMRCL website which is yet to be announced.DVS THE FIRST CUSTOMERChief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda was the first customer of Bangalore Metro to purchase metro travel card. Ministers Suresh Kumar, R Ashok, C M Udasi, MLAs Narendra Babu, members of FKCCI followed the suit.HELPLINEThe CM also inaugurated the Namma Metro helpline. The helpline can be contacted on 1800 425 12345NAMMA METRO CAN HANDLE 80,000 PASSENGERS PER DAYBMRCL MDN Sivasailam said that the peak handling capacity of Namma Metro would be 80,000 passengers per day, but the BMRCL was expecting around 30,000-35,000 people to take metro rail in the initial days of its operations.However, the police estimate that 60,000 people will take the metro every day. “If 35,000 people travel every day, we will meet our daily operation-maintenance cost.”
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