Good morning, Bengaluru!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Light rains and a moderate breeze.
🧐 Did you know? The KSR Bengaluru station features a public aquarium called ′Aquatic Kingdom′, which includes India’s first 12-foot-long tunnel aquarium.
🥘 Railway coach turned restaurant
Railway authorities plan to inaugurate two rail coach restaurants in Bengaluru.
Story so far: South Western Railway (SWR) has exciting plans to set up theme-based rail coach restaurants at two locations – Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station and Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal at Baiyappanahalli (SMVT). These modified railway coaches will be serving food by October, with each station hosting one round-the-clock restaurant.
- Bidders will receive an empty coach to convert into their dream theme-based air-conditioned restaurant. They’ll be set up near the main gate.
- There’ll also be outdoor seating arrangements. The coach-turned-eateries will have paintings, warm lighting, and comfortable seating.
Indian cuisine: The SWR restaurant will cater to vegetarians and non-vegetarians with food prepared in separate kitchens. The menu will feature a blend of north and south Indian delicacies.
🚘 Pushing the limits of autonomous vehicles
Minus Zero seeks to make waves with its nature-inspired AI approach to autonomous mobility.
Story so far: Bengaluru-based autonomous mobility startup, Minus Zero, holds a promising solution for the complex hurdles hindering the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles. Their nature-inspired approach to artificial intelligence addresses safety, dynamic road navigation, human behaviour prediction, traffic management, and more.
- The founders Gursimran Kalra and Gagandeep Reehal hypothesise that human brains focus on correlating data points rather than merely storing data.
- By training AI to do the same, it can continually learn and adapt, as evidenced in their simulation test, where autonomous vehicles outperformed existing AI models and approached human-level navigation.
What’s on the table? Minus Zero collaborates with manufacturers to develop AV fleets. Their product incorporates AI-powered software, dashcams, and sensors for navigation. Unlike Western counterparts, their camera requirements aren’t extensive, with a simple mobile phone camera being sufficient. The startup prioritises shared mobility and commercial fleet operations.
🚇 New metro transfer station soon
Another multi-level interchange metro station will unveil by year-end.
What’s it about? By the end of this year, the multi-level interchange metro station at Jayadeva junction, the largest in Bengaluru, will open partially. Serving both the Yellow Line (RV Road to Bommasandra) and the Pink Line (Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara), it can accommodate 25,000 passengers during rush hours.
- Officials from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) have confirmed that around 90% of the station’s construction is already complete, covering a total built-up area of 19,826 sqm.
- As part of Phase II of Namma Metro, Jayadeva Metro station is included in the proposed two new lines. The 19-km RV Road to Bommasandra line, featuring 16 stations, will open by year-end.
More moolah: When the Yellow Line, connecting to Electronics City, opens, Bengaluru will gain three interchange metro stations. RV Road station will be the third, where the Yellow Line meets the Green Line. BMRCL predicts the Yellow Line’s launch will boost ridership by two lakh.
- Jayadeva station is expected to witness significant footfall as it connects two major Metro lines, potentially serving 80,000 to 90,000 passengers.
🏙️ Missing city development master plan
The outskirts of Bengaluru could look like dystopian shanty towns without an updated city plan.
What’s it about? Kudlu, near Electronic City, is a rapidly growing neighbourhood in Bengaluru surrounded by high-rise buildings and commercial spaces, but lacking in parks and playgrounds. Residents feel neglected, with only a lake and makeshift private badminton courts as public spaces. Other outskirt areas of the city face similar troubles.
- Incomplete road grids, missing drains, inadequate water supply, and the absence of parks, playgrounds, and sites of civic amenities highlight the disparities between the outskirts and central Bengaluru.
- It all boils down to the absence of a city development plan (CDP) and the inadequate enforcement of the existing but outdated Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2015.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Are you a bigger fan of action movies or romantic comedies?
- I like action movies more.
- I like romantic comedies more.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Which city has the best metro transit system according to you?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Devarabeesanahalli will witness slow-moving traffic.
- Inspired by Chennai, Bengaluru is exploring rebooting its waste collection system.
- Artificial intelligence in healthcare decision-making is gaining momentum.
- Byju’s vacates its biggest office space in Bengaluru to save costs.
- The Bellandur traffic police personnel filled in potholes on the Outer Ring Road.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer playing on my phone: 50.0% 🏆
- I prefer playing on my laptop: 50.0% 🏆
That’s it for today. Have a great day!