Bengaluru: South India's first double-decker rail-cum-road flyover opens for trial run

Bengaluru: South India’s first double-decker rail-cum-road flyover was on Wednesday partially opened for a trial run for the public, officials said.

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar conducted a ‘trial walk’ on the newly built flyover, which stretches from Ragigudda to Central Silk Board, and is part of the Yellow Line of the Bengaluru Metro.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and other officials also joined the event, they said.

This double decker flyover built by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) at a cost of Rs 449 crore will be open for vehicular movement only on one side of the flyover, officials said.

According to metro officials, the Central Silk Board Junction intersects with both the Outer Ring Road and Hosur Road. It is the busiest junction of Bengaluru city, which has a large volume of vehicular movement and is a bottleneck for traffic flow.

The rail-cum-road flyover has been built to ease the traffic congestion at the Central Silk Board Junction from Ragigudda to Central Silk Board with loops and ramps.

In a statement, BMRCL said, “As on date, the rail-cum-road flyover from Ragigudda to Central Silk Board is complete along with loops and ramps of length 5.12 km. It facilitates signal-free travel from Ragigudda to reach HSR Layout and Hosur Road and this will immensely benefit road travellers towards KR Pura and Hosur Road, saving time by more than 30 per cent.”

The ramps from HSR Layout connecting to the road flyover towards Ragigudda and BTM layout for a length of 1.37 km is still under construction and expected to be commissioned by June-2025, it stated.

According to the BMRCL, this rail-cum-road flyover stands as a testament to Bengaluru’s foray into innovative infrastructure.