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The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Thursday revealed that the minimum fare for travelling on Reach-1 of the project –– Baiyappanahalli to M G Road –– would be Rs 15 as fixed by a sub-committee. 

BMRCL spokesperson B L Y Chavan said: “For the integrated transport on Metro and BMTC, the commuter has to spend Rs 70 and Rs 110 per day, to ride on both Metro and an ordinary BMTC bus and Metro and BMTC Vajra buses, respectively.” For this, an agreement between BMRCL and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will be signed soon.

Chavan said Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will flag off the trial runs on January 24. This will be followed by another trial run of about 2,500 to 3,000 km spanning across six to eight weeks before operations finally obtain the safety certification from the Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS).

Yeddyurappa and Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath will inspect the Metro work between Byappanahalli depot and MG Road station during the trial run. Three sets of rakes (each with three coaches) have arrived and two more sets will reach by mid-February.

BMRCL officials said that only three sets of rakes will be run and that coaches would be added depending on passenger density.The Corporation has spent about Rs 1,400 crore on the stretch so far, including expenditure on civil works and systems.

According to authorities at BMRCL, the average cost of the Namma Metro project is an estimated Rs 275 crore per kilometer and Rs 420 crore per kilometer for the elevated and the underground sections, respectively.

Besides, the BMTC authorities will announce the completion of the feeder service for Reach-1, stretching 6.7 kms, in the next few weeks.The integration of feeder bus and Metro stations was underway at the Byappanahalli depot.

Metro officials have already said that after the completion of Reach-1, the Corporation is expected to open the next two stretches, Reach-3 and 3A by March-April 2012.

 Fare chart

*  Cost from Baiyappanahalli to MG Road: Rs 15
*  Cost of using BMTC bus with Metro: 70 per day
*  Cost of using BMTC Vajra bus with Metro: 110 per day
*  Money spent on Metro’s Reach-1: 1,400 cr (so far)
*  Avg cost per km: 275 cr
*  Avg cost of underground  project per km: 420 cr