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The start of the weekend saw hundreds of thousands of citizens flock to the metro to give it a whirl.

While Saturday was a holiday for many employees, there was still a sizable crowd at Nayandahalli and Baiyappanahalli as people wanted to travel the entire corridor and experience the underground stations.

It’s little wonder, then, that officials were a tired but happy lot by Saturday night.

With long lines of passengers at the ticket windows when the stations opened at 6 a.m. for the first day of operations on the entire East-West corridor, it was indeed a busy day for the staff.

Surprisingly, there were many passengers who began using the Purple Line for their commute from Saturday itself. In the past, when operations were launched on reaches, the first two days were usually used by people looking for a joy ride as end-to-end connectivity was not an option.

“I wanted to go to Hoskote, but then someone suggested I take the metro to Baiyappanahalli. The ticket was Rs 40 but I travelled peacefully. This is a very good option for daily commute,” said Sudha G.S., who works in a factory on Mysuru Road.

According to a station official at Cubbon Park, “People have been pouring in since 6 a.m., the crowd has increased and waned in turns but we are expecting a larger crowd today evening and tomorrow as it is a holiday.”

Metro will run past midnight for IPL tomorrow

BMRCL officials are hoping Monday will also see a huge rush as the IPL match scheduled to be held in the city will attract a lot of passengers who will find the metro an easier option to reaching Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“People from the North can travel till Sampige Road station and take a feeder bus to the Kempegowda station and then board a metro to Cubbon Park station. It will be a great option and we will extend timings across all reaches till past midnight to help fans get back home as well,” said U.A. Vasanth Rao, spokesperson, BMRCL.

Trains could be run with a frequency of one every 3 minutes as well if needed, Mr. Rao said.

Vehicle-free Cubbon Park, Metro will be helpful

The opening of Cubbon Park station will also be a boon to those who visit the park every Sunday to walk or cycle. The park, a haven for visitors on Sundays as there is no traffic, has the metro station located just a few meters from one of its entrances.

There is already some interest being shown in renting out bicycles near the metro entrance, which visitors can then use for a tour of the park. “Visitors will not have to travel to the central business district at all in their vehicles. There will be no hassle of having to hunt for parking, they can just use the Metro to reach the park instead,” Mr. Rao said.

Excerpts from chat on The Hindu website:

Vasanth Rao, Spokesperson, BMRCL:

The North South line is expected to be completed by November/ December 2016. However, we may be able to start the services from Puttanhalli to National College by August/ September.

Sanjeev V, Dyamannavar, Commuter Rail Expert:

Looking for BMRCL to resolve all issues related with BMTC, Railways, for integration and provide smooth change over between metro and other modes of transport.

Krishnaprasad, Railways Expert:

For people from West especially Vijayanagar and nearby area people can go directly to Vidhana Soudha, Court, Income Tax office, MG Road and Indiranagar within 35 to 40 meters without hassle and it is secured, timesaving and causes less fatigue as it is air conditioned.