Namma Metro takes baby steps to build what could become Phase 4

Bengaluru: Namma Metro has started taking baby steps to build what could be Phase 4. 

On Friday, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) invited open bids from consulting agencies to study the feasibility of adding 118 km to the metro network (see table). 

Companies fulfilling the eligibility criteria are required to submit the bids on March 27. The bids will be opened on the same day. The BMRCL will likely award the contract for the feasibility study by the third quarter of 2024. The contractor will have to prepare the study in six months, which could happen by late 2024 or early 2025. 

An official source in the BMRCL said that the study would include estimated costs of construction, traffic survey, alignment of the metro lines, properties needed to be acquired, potential hurdles in land acquisition and so on. 

“This is just the first step. Based on the feasibility study, the government will approve or reject the new lines. In case of approval, we will go for a Detailed Project Report (DPR),” the official told DH. 

The official wouldn’t comment on whether the new lines would be called Phase 4. He would also not give a timeline for when these lines would open if all approvals were in place. 

On January 1, 2024, DH broke the news about the state government’s plans to build Namma Metro’s Phase 4. While the government had proposed four extensions spanning 61 km and one new line (68 km), the Requests For Proposal (RFPs) specifies only three extensions (50 km) and one new line (68 km). 

The fourth extension (Madavara-Kunigal Cross on Tumakuru Road, 11 km) has been omitted. 

In the 2024-25 Karnataka budget, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the government would study the feasibility of extending the metro to Tumakuru and Devanahalli. 

If the government goes ahead with the 118-km plan, it will signal a departure from the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) that proposed a 317-km metro network for Bengaluru by 2031. 

The CMP mentions a 34-km underground inner ring metro line linking Indiranagar, Koramangala, Jayanagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Yeshwantpur, Cantonment and Halasuru, and new lines from Whitefield to Domlur (16 km) and Katamanallur Gate-Sarjapur Road–Hebbal (52 km). 

While there’s no word on the inner ring and the Whitefield-Domlur lines, the BMRCL has included the Sarjapur-Hebbal line (37 km) in Phase 3A, of which the draft DPR has been prepared.  

In the pipeline  

Operational length: 
73.81 km (Purple & Green lines)

Under construction: 
101.5 km (Yellow, Pink & Blue lines; Green Line extension)

Under approval: 
81.65 km — Phase 3 (JP Nagar 4th Phase-Kempapura; 32.15 km; Hosahalli-Kadabagere; 12.5 km); Phase 3A (Sarjapur-Hebbal; 37 km)

Phase 4:
118 km (Challaghatta-Bidadi: 15 km; Silk Institute-Harohalli: 24 km, Bommasandra-Attibele: 11 km & Kalena Agrahara-Kadugodi Tree Park via Jigani, Anekal, Attibele, Sarjapur and Varthur; 68 km)