[procrj]

Heavy traffic at Rainbow hospital U turn towards Alpine eco. Not sure what the reason is. Alpine eco - Graphite india is smooth and there was absolutely no traffic at graphite signal at 8 am.

A few days ago I decided to experiment with metro to get to work and it was a nightmare. Last mile connectivity is pathetic.
- Cubbon park metro station to SV road was a breeze. Train was not jam packed but was pretty crowded at 7.25 am. Was good to see a lot of school kids taking the metro - safer option IMHO
- SV road feeder connectivity is non existent Even after a 20 minute wait, I did not get a bus that goes to Hoodi, forget about graphite India
- Took a bus to tin factory hoping that I can get a bus to graphite but that was not to be
- 8.30 am at tin factory and still no bus to graphite hence decided to get onto a volvo to hoodi
- Monday morning mayhem in front of phoenix & HP office. Took close to 45 minutes to get to hoodi from KR puram
- Reached office at 9.20

This just highlights the fact that BMTC and BMRCL have a long way to go when it comes to working together.
Note: Bagmane tech world has feeder busses from SV road to the tech park . Saw 2 arrive in a span of 20 minutes.

Also witnessed an interesting conversation between the bus driver and conductor near Phoenix when a harley managed to squeeze through between the volvo and a normal BMTC bus.
Conductor: <beautiful explitive from north karnataka> What a ruckus that bike is making
Driver: Imagine the noise if you are on the road or in a normal bus
Conductor: what a waste of petrol. they should just ban sale of such vehicles
Driver: Who can control what rich people can buy and not buy

All the above is in kannada and just made me think about the economic divide that can bring the country to a standstill if not addressed quickly.

[msdivy]

KSRTC getting into shuttle service in Bangalore !

In an effort to generate more revenue, the government-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is looking at providing shuttle bus services to various companies, especially those in the IT and ITeS sector, in Bengaluru.

Reason why KSRTC will succed where BMTC failed,

Companies prefer the KSRTC to the BMTC as the former’s non-airconditioned buses have recliner seats (Rajahamsa and Karnataka Vaibhav buses).

Link: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...hies-home.html

Originally Posted by procrj

Conductor: what a waste of petrol. they should just ban sale of such vehicles

They can recommend banning Volvos, since they consume more diesel for the distance travelled

All the above is in kannada and just made me think about the economic divide that can bring the country to a standstill if not addressed quickly.

It is all relative, isn't it? .

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by procrj

All the above just made me think about the economic divide that can bring the country to a standstill if not addressed quickly.

And up until now exactly what else has been happening? The divide has always existed and will continue to exist.. just in different ways and with everybody. Its only that materialistic acquisitions are increasing due to availability these days and thus the status in society is more apparent than before. Autowale also cash in on the new found economic wealth in the city by asking for exorbitant fares (upto Rs.100/- for a little over 2km at 10 am in the morning!!), a few years back asking that would've earned them a slap in the face. Salary/income is rising constantly for everyone compared to what they were earning and basically its the middle section of society that has to feed both the lower (with salaries/wages) and upper (taxes) sections.

All we get in return are promises of infrastructure improvement, better roads, better water etc with the latest being a 7000 cr allocation for "upliftment" of the city. As the politicians gambol about in 50-car squads burning many hundred gallons of fuel and spending resources both monetary and otherwise like they are available infinitely, we too look upon them and say "who can control what they ultra-super-mega rich do and not do". Life goes on.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by msdivy

It is all relative, isn't it? .

<rant>
What I meant to say was that things we take for granted- like driving to work. Its not even an option for a large portion of society. 150 rs increase is volvo bus pass is a big deal for them and they spend 4 hours day in crowded public transport thanks to pathetic infra. In general (by that I mean middle-upper middle income) blinkered-upward looking-latte drinking-pub hopping-attention deficit-over stressed human does not take a second look at the not so lucky folks waiting patiently by the road to cross safely. Its all relative and its all about perspective.
<rant>

Originally Posted by dark.knight

As the politicians gambol about in 50-car squads burning many hundred gallons of fuel and spending resources both monetary and otherwise like they are available infinitely, we too look upon them and say "who can control what they ultra-super-mega rich do and not do". Life goes on.

Not to forget our CM who changed his car because of a crow - if I were to believe social media.

[TorqueyTechie]

Guess the below two pics sums up about us (atleast in Bangalore)





And the debate goes on!!

[Rajeevraj]

So after the excitement of taking the Metro to Majestic last week, was trying to find credible sources on the progress and plans of the Bangalore Metro. The website themetrorailguy.com seems to have the most accurate latest and reliable updates on the status(Of Metro construction and progress across the country-Not just Bangalore). The official updates which mostly seem to say what is nice to hear and the media-whose reports are based on these official information and other half truths which make it highly inaccurate. After going through TheMetroRailGuy's posts found that these seem to be the most accurate reflection of the status. no attempt at sugar coating or political correctness. Just conclusions inferred from the data.

Overall looks very disheartening.

• Phase 1: The info in the media was that the complete 'Green Line' (Nagasandra to Puttenahalli) will be opened by Nov 1st. As per the updates and analysis in the website, there is no way that the line can be opened by Nov 1st 2016. Conservative estimates based on the pending work is Mid 2017. So basically Phase 1 of the Metro will be complete only in 2017. (Link to Detailed post).
  
  
• Phase 2: Involves extension of the 4 ends of the Phase 1 Lines and 2 new lines (Map of Phase 1 and 2 combined below). Some contracts have been awarded, but no real work has started. BMRCL has said 2021 for completion of Phase 2. Realistically we are looking at 2024-25 (Related Link)
  
  
  
  
  
• Phase 3: In May 2016 BMRCL presented and reviewed the proposal for Phase 3 (~102km of lines).The DPR is still not ready for this. Expected sometime this year.Unless something radically changes in the way the work is done, expect work to start on Phase 3 in ~2025 and completion maybe 10 years down the line. Probable lines and map below (Related Link)

• • Nagavara – Airport (23 km) – shown in Red
  • Carmelaram – Yelahanka (32 km) – shown in Blue
  • Marathahalli – Hosakerehalli (21 km) – shown in Pink
  • Silkboard – KR Puram – Hebbal (29 km) – shown in Brown

A long long way to go.

Source: http://themetrorailguy.com/

[raghuram.cg]

Jam Alert

Traffic was piling up on Mahadevapura Flyover at 520 pm towards KR Puram.The service road leading B Narayanapura has been dug up rendering it unusable for 4Wheelers.

Road users - find alternatives (if any!!)

raghu

[JD1]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

• Phase 1: The info in the media was that the complete 'Green Line' (Nagasandra to Puttenahalli) will be opened by Nov 1st. As per the updates and analysis in the website, there is no way that the line can be opened by Nov 1st 2016. Conservative estimates based on the pending work is Mid 2017. So basically Phase 1 of the Metro will be complete only in 2017. (Link to Detailed post).

There was a nice twitter war on this few days back-

[Chetan_Rao]

BMRCL don't need to prove anything. Their absolute inability to meet any sort of schedule - even ones rescheduled numerous times from their own initial estimates - is proof enough of their (in)capability to meet deadlines.

No offense, but the bloke should save his breath trying to fight a twitter war and instead spend that energy kicking his department up the backside, maybe that'll speed something up.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Phase 2: Involves extension of the 4 ends of the Phase 1 Lines and 2 new lines (Map of Phase 1 and 2 combined below). Some contracts have been awarded, but no real work has started.

Its a long way to go, but for phase 2, the work has started...atleast on Kanakapura road and in Bommasandra.

On kanankapura road, the buildings have be demolished on both sides of the road, road has been widened. the centre of the road has been blocked in many places and drilling is also finished for many pillars.

In Bommasandra, some places have been blocked and digging has begun which looks like they are relocating utility lines

[srishiva]

I hope to believe the BMRCL version ! We have a way of taking it too far when criticizing our govt agencies.

On Mysuru road, they are already erecting the columns and hope they will commission the extension of line to Kengeri according to plan.

The stations are the ones that take much of the time.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Its a long way to go, but for phase 2, the work has started...atleast on Kanakapura road and in Bommasandra.

On kanankapura road, the buildings have be demolished on both sides of the road, road has been widened. the centre of the road has been blocked in many places and drilling is also finished for many pillars.

In Bommasandra, some places have been blocked and digging has begun which looks like they are relocating utility lines

You are right. I misread the updates a little. The little or no work point was for the Whitefield extension and also the 2 new lines which involves ~13KM of Underground.

Originally Posted by srishiva

I hope to believe the BMRCL version ! We have a way of taking it too far when criticizing our govt agencies.

On Mysuru road, they are already erecting the columns and hope they will commission the extension of line to Kengeri according to plan.

The stations are the ones that take much of the time.

If BMRCL's estimates are accurate, then it would be great for us. Hope that happens. The extensions will definitely start getting commissioned starting 2018-19. The full phase 2 including the 2 new lines is what is expected to go up to 2025.

[daretodream]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

In this scenario, it was not possible to change you driving direction cause you were already very close to the station.

Always remember that you can go to Bangalore Cant to catch the Shatabdi. I believe the distance is around the same from HSR.

I've again similar task coming up.
This time I plan to go to Cant.
Wanted to check:
> Platform is always fixed for Shatabdi Express?
> And is ist always North Side Platform?
> Are coach position indicators working?


Asking because there is a toddler this time and there is enough luggage that we cannot manage last minute run on the platform.

[sandeepmohan]

Which genius decided to widen the foot paths on OMR. The current width of the foot path was more than sufficient, considering there are not too many users anyway. What ruined it was hawkers occupying most of the space.

They are widening on the side where you have the Baiyapanahalli Metro station and it appears it is going all the way to RMZ IT Park. The width is as much as a Nano car. We all know that this is a road that is busy at all times. Narrowing down the road further does not help.

With the metro service extended all the way to Mysore road, I am guessing the user base has increased significantly. A new thing that has started is parking on OMR, opposite to the metro station entry, for the traffic headed towards the city. Its obvious that folks find it difficult to go further ahead, get stuck at the signal to take the U Turn. A month ago, a car stopped beside the median, to drop someone off who wanted to go to the metro station. I understand the difficulty in crossing the road. Now who solves this problem? BMRCL might want to consider building a walk way to cross the road.

Originally Posted by daretodream

Platform is always fixed for Shatabdi Express?

Yes. I've heard of only one instance where the platform changed and that was very recently. It was due to some train with a failed locomotive occupying the other platform.

Originally Posted by daretodream

And is ist always North Side Platform?

I am guessing you're heading towards Chennai which means Platform 2. Entry from Benson Town.

Originally Posted by daretodream

Are coach position indicators working?

Yes

[nagarjun]

I think the work going in OMR is not widening of foot paths, but creating a bicycle lane from BYP metro station to RMZ