Namma Metro operations.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: Namma Metro’s Pink Line is likely to open partially early next year as Bengaluru-based defence PSU BEML Ltd has promised to deliver 20 trainsets by March 2026.
The train manufacturing for BMRCL is in advanced stages, with nearly half the work completed on the first trainset, according to BEML chairman and managing director Shantanu Roy.
“We are making strong progress in the manufacturing of trainsets for BMRCL, and are on track to deliver 20 driverless trains in the current financial year,” he told DH.
Roy said a significant capacity increase was planned, starting with the commissioning of Line 3A at the company’s plant in Bengaluru. Further expansion will follow with the establishment of BEML’s upcoming manufacturing facility in Bhopal, which will be dedicated to the production of rail and metro coaches. Once operational, this new plant will effectively double the company’s manufacturing capacity, he explained.
M Maheshwar Rao, managing director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), welcomed BEML Ltd’s plans to supply 20 trains by March 2026, sooner than expected.
“We expect the prototype train by September. The early delivery of trains will help us open the elevated section of the Pink Line by March,” he told this newspaper.
Civil work on the elevated section (Kalena Agrahara-Tavarekere, 7.5 km) is 100% complete, while construction is still ongoing on the underground stretch (Dairy Circle-Nagawara, 13.76 km).
Train procurement has become a thorny issue for Namma Metro. The Yellow Line (19.15 km, RV Road-Bommasandra) hasn’t opened due to a shortage of trains.
In August 2023, BEML won a Rs 3,177-crore contract to supply 318 coaches (53 trainsets) for Namma Metro.
Of the 318 coaches, 96 are for the Pink Line (Kalena Agrahara-Nagawara, 21.26 km) and 222 for the Blue Line (Silk Board Junction-KR Pura-Airport, 58.19 km).
All these coaches will be equipped with Communication Based Train Control (CBTC), a signalling system that allows metro trains to run unattended every 90 seconds.
However, a senior BMRCL official is sceptical that BEML would be able to supply 20 trains by March 2026 “because their materials are just not lined up”.
According to the official, BEML will receive propulsion systems — a key sub-system in rolling stock manufacturing — from Japanese company Mitsubishi only for three trains by December.
“Since BEML is buying these propulsion systems from Mitsubishi, it has to make advance payments and needs robust cash flow,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“We sought five trains by December but even that is not possible. In three months afterwards (January to March), they can manufacture only five to six trains more. So, we will get only a total of 8-9 trains this financial year,” the official said.
The official said that BMRCL would start tests on the first train as soon as it is received by October.
The official expressed optimism that once BEML delivers the prototype train and streamlines its supplies and design, it can make 2-3 trains a month.
BEML’s rail business
For FY26, Roy said BEML had earmarked a capital expenditure of over Rs 200 crore for its rail business.
“With ongoing capacity enhancements and strategic investments in infrastructure, our rail business is well-positioned for sustained growth. The overall outlook for FY26 is highly positive, driven by a healthy order pipeline and focused execution,” Roy said.