Bengaluru: Yellow Line safety clearance by December end, opening after second week of January

Bengaluru: After months of delays, Namma Metro now says it aims to open the 19.15-km Yellow Line some time between the second and fourth weeks of January, 2025. 

The line, which connects RV Road with Bommasandra via BTM Layout, Silk Board Junction and Electronics City, has long been ready but commercial operations haven't begun for want of trains. 

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) currently has only one prototype train, which arrived from China in February this year. The train has been deployed for trial runs and received necessary approvals from Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), a senior BMRCL official in the know said. 

Car body shells of three more trains are currently being assembled at Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) in West Bengal. TRSL is the Indian partner of Chinese's CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, which won a contract to supply 36 trains to the BMRCL for Rs 1,578 crore. 

Car body shells of the third train arrived in the Mumbai port in September and reached the TRSL plant by road a few weeks ago, according to the BMRCL. 

Speaking to DH, BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao expressed confidence that the train manufacturing at TRSL was going on as per schedule. 

"We expect the first train from TRSL in the first week of December and the second one by December-end. With three trains, we can operationalise the Yellow Line between the second and last weeks of January," he explained. 

Rao added that the BMRCL aims to secure statutory clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) by December-end after addressing the observations, if any. 

"We are requesting the state government to expedite approvals," he added. 

Initially, trains will operate at a 30-minute headway, which will be progressively lowered as more trains arrive, according to the BMRCL. 

'Nagasandra-Madavara line to open after Deepavali'

On October 18, Karnataka's Urban Development Department (UDD) wrote to the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing (MoHUA) for permission to operationalise the 3.14-km metro line between Nagasandra and Madavara. 

The stretch, part of the Green Line, will expand the Bengaluru metro network to 76.95 km and help alleviate the severe traffic congestion on Tumakuru Road. 

Built at a cost of Rs 298.65 crore, the elevated metro line includes three stations at Manjunath Nagar, Chikkabidarakallu and Madavara. It is the slowest to be built in Namma Metro's history, taking 91 months instead of the original 27 months. 

While the line received statutory safety clearance from the CMS (Southern Circle) on October 4, its formal inauguration has been delayed for want of government permissions. 

BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao said the line would open "very soon" but declined to specify a date. 

A well-placed source said that the ministry was reviewing the UDD's letter, adding that the line would most likely open after Deepavali.