Bengaluru’s Metro mess: Deadlines and delays

Bengaluru: In the run-up to the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections, then-Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had promised that Namma Metro’s Phase 2 would be completed by 2020. Critics found the deadline “impractically ambitious”. They could not have been more right. 

Seven years later, over half of the 75.09 km of Phase 2 is still under construction. And the remaining 40.41 km is expected to be up and running no sooner than December 2026, when Siddaramaiah will have less than two years left in his second non-consecutive term as chief minister. 

Namma Metro began operations in November 2011 with a 6.7-km line from MG Road to Baiyappanahalli. It has since added just 70.25 km to its network, or a meagre 5.2 km annually. 

Phase 2, which received approval from the union government in February 2014, did not see actual construction until February 2016, two years later. It had four extensions and two new lines: Pink and Yellow. 

The Pink Line, supposed to be completed in 2020, as per Siddaramaiah’s original deadline, has just missed another official deadline. For several years, the BMRCL had maintained that this line would open by March 2025. The BMRCL revised it to 2026 recently. BMRCL officials now say that the line will likely open only by December 2026.

Similarly, the Blue Line, whose construction began in September 2021, was touted to open by June 2026. While the BMRCL still maintains that one section of the Blue Line (Phase 2A, 19.75 km) will open between June and September 2025, it has quietly pushed the deadline of the other section (Phase 2B, 38.44 km) to early 2027. 

In Phase 2A, all viaduct and station piers were reportedly completed in package 2 (Kadubeesanahalli-KR Pura) just weeks ago, while 13 more piers are yet to be constructed in package 1 (Silk Board Junction-Kadubeesanahalli). In Phase 2B, 59% of the piers have been built in package 1 (KR Pura-Kempapura), 74% in package 2 (Kempapura to Yelahanka IAF Station) and 96% in package 3 (Yelahanka IAF Station to KIA). Progress on the 30 elevated stations along the Blue Line (Phase 2A/2B) has also been sluggish, according to @maddyvoldy, an X account that tracks Metro rail progress.

According to the BMRCL, track plinth casting was 31.18% complete in Phase 2A and just 0.020% in Phase 2B.

Metro construction in Bengaluru has been hindered by tedious government approvals, land acquisition hurdles, and contractors’ financial struggles. For example, the union government took nearly two years to approve Phase 3. The 3.14-km Green Line extension to Madavara took nearly eight years. 

Many hurdles

The delay in Metro track construction is nothing new. A parliamentary committee report submitted in December 2022, Implementation of Metro Rail Projects – An Appraisal’  explained why the Metro in Bengaluru could not achieve the projected ridership of 16.1 lakh footfall by 2021:

“The factors like land acquisition issues, traffic diversions, water table, public utility services, environmental clearances, tree clearances, technical problems, etc., which are beyond the control of the company, caused the delay in the implementation of the project. As a result, the projections in the DPR could not be achieved.”

These factors seem to contribute to the delay now as well. A senior BMRCL official, who prefers anonymity, explains where the problem lies. 

According to him, the delay starts with DPR preparation itself. “Instead of planning a large number of new lines and extensions at once, we send piecemeal proposals to the government for approval. The DPR preparation usually takes one to two years. The state government approval takes up to six months, and the central government approval takes up to a year. Then, the process of pre-construction activities and actual groundwork begins. So we have an unusually long gestation period,” he states. 

“BMRCL tries to please everyone. When the Karnataka government says it wants a double-decker flyover, it says yes. This is counterproductive. The rationale for Metro is that it will remove vehicles from the road. Why would they want to create more infrastructure for cars under them?” asks Satya Arikutharam, a mobility expert.

“Now, the phase 3 will be delayed because there is a need for a double-decker flyover, and the specifications would change. In Phase 3A, leading from Sarjapur to Hebbal, they do not have a strategy to monetise the development rights. The worst thing is that they are allowing a tunnel road to come up beside the metro route of Phase 3A,” adds Arikutharam.

Train supply status

• Yellow Line: The Yellow Line has been held back by an unusual — and rather extraordinary — problem: a lack of trains, not a local reason for a change. The 19.15-km line has long been ready, but commercial operations haven’t begun because the BMRCL doesn’t have enough trains.

Arikutharam recalls the reason for the delay in the Yellow Line. In December 2019, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) awarded a contract worth Rs 1,578 crore to CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China’s CRRC Corporation, to supply 216 metro coaches.

In 2020, following the Doklam and Galwan standoffs, the Union government banned CRRC and many other Chinese companies from participating in Indian government tenders and contracts. Later, the CRRC partnered with Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) to manufacture 34 of the 36 train sets (204 out of 216 coaches) in India, but this process resulted in a significant delay. The first train prototype for the Yellow Line trains arrived in Bengaluru in February 2024, and trials were conducted in November 2024.

As of this date, only two of the 15 train sets ordered by the BMRCL in 2019 have arrived. The third train set is expected by mid-May, and the fourth by June or July. Recently, BMRCL officials hinted that the line would be launched when the third train set arrives in a month. However, “We will have only five stops. Maybe by July, we will be able to stop at most of the 17 stations,” said MRCL MD Maheshwar Rao in a recent event. 

• Pink and Blue lines: In August 2023, Bengaluru-based PSU BEML Limited won the contract to supply 318 coaches (53 trainsets), including their comprehensive maintenance for up to 15 years. Of the 318 coaches, 96 are for the Pink Line, 96 for Phase 2A and 126 for Phase 2B, both of which are collectively called the Blue Line.

In March 2025, BEML received another contract from BMRCL to supply seven more trainsets for the Pink Line under the same contract. BEML Limited has promised to supply the prototype train for the Pink Line by June 2025, but a delay in getting propulsion systems from Mitsubishi Electric may hold things up.

• Purple and Green Lines:  CRRC-TRSL have supplied the prototype train for the Purple Line as part of a 21-coach train order. The prototype train is currently undergoing tests. Once all approvals are complete, CRRC-TRSL is supposed to start supplying the remaining 20 trains from their West Bengal plant later this year. The trains will help address overcrowding issues on the Purple and Green lines and also increase ridership.

Another senior BMRCL official, speaking anonymously, revealed that plans were underway to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for 200-250 km of new Metro lines, aiming to get the Union government’s approvals soon. However, it is anyone’s guess how much time these would take, given the hurdles lined up.