Bengaluru: The South Western Railway has decided to start train services at the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru’s Byappanahalli, which was built almost 14 months ago.
According to sources, it was supposed to be opened on March 15, 2021, but it remained closed to the public for over a year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unavailable for the event. The Prime Minister will officially inaugurate the terminal later, however the station has already been opened to the public.
The Banaswadi-Ernakulam express will be the first train to depart from the terminal on June 6.
The terminal structure, which cost over Rs. 300 Crore and occupies 4200 square metres to accommodate a daily footfall of 50,000, intends to help decongest the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway station in Majestic and Yeshwantpur Station. According to an earlier press release, the terminal has seven platforms, eight stabling lines, and three pit lines, allowing it to run 50 trains daily.
The terminal, which is designed like the Bengaluru airport, is also the first in India to be centrally air-conditioned, with a waiting hall, a VIP lounge with a digital real-time passenger information system, and a food court. Officials had stated that it would have its own water recycling plant with a capacity of 4 lakh litres. The terminal was approved in 2015-16 and has a huge parking lot with room for 250 four-wheelers and 900 two-wheelers.
Heavy rains in April of last year created leaks in the terminal’s ceiling, which flooded the building. Pictures on social media circulated of water pouring into the station from a hole in the ceiling and thigh-deep water in a subway connecting two platforms.
