Bengaluru: When the first metro train chugged into the MG Road station on October 20, 2011, Bengalureans rejoiced with childlike excitement.

It was the city’s first metro corridor — a 6.7-km section of the Purple Line from MG Road to Baiyappanahalli — and citizens were convinced that a reliable and affordable solution to Bengaluru’s notorious traffic woes had finally arrived.

They believed that the city would expand the metro fast enough — within 10-15 years — to cover all major areas. The excitement was pure, the hope infectious.

But 14 years on, the excitement has ebbed, the hope dimmed. As construction slows and expansion drags, citizens wonder what’s really ailing Namma Metro? Why has the proposed panacea failed to ease traffic woes?

The first Delhi Metro line opened on December 24

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