Bengaluru: Yellow Line opens; Metro ridership to hit 30 lakh in 2030

Bengaluru: Namma Metro has finally arrived in the tech hub of southern Bengaluru, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the city's newest metro corridor—the 19.15-km Yellow Line—on Sunday. 

He also laid the foundation stone for Phase 3, which will expand the metro ridership to 222.2 km by 2030 and increase ridership to 25-30 lakh. 

The metro's daily ridership currently averages 8-9 lakh. The Yellow Line is expected to increase this to 12.5 lakh by early next year. 

With the opening of the Yellow Line, the Bengaluru Metro network has expanded to 96.1 km, the longest after Delhi. 

After landing in Bengaluru on Sunday morning, Modi drove straight to the KSR Bengaluru railway station to flag off three Vande Bharat Express trains, including one connecting Bengaluru and Belagavi. 

He then drove to Ragigudda and was given a tour of the metro station, waving to jubilant crowds assembled there. 

Officials briefed him on the Yellow Line, its route and stations. In particular, he was given a low-down on the Jayadeva Hospital station, the tallest in South India. Jayadeva Hospital, a multi-tier elevated station, will be an interchange between the Yellow and Pink lines. 

Modi later purchased a ticket to the Electronics City metro station by scanning a QR code and paying through UPI. 

At a public programme at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore, Modi began his speech in Kannada. 

"Bengaluru nagarada aatmiya nagarika bandhu-bandhuniyaare, nimagella nanna namaskara," he said to a thunderous applause. 

Noting that Bengaluru is now compared with big cities in the world, he stressed the need to expand public infrastructure projects to meet the growing needs of rapid urbanisation. "The Yellow Line will make travel faster from Basavanagudi to Electronics City," he said. 

According to Modi, India's metro network has expanded from five cities in 2014 to over 1,000 km in 24 cities now. 

He lauded private companies Infosys, Biocon and Delta Electronics that have funded the construction of three metro stations on the Yellow Line. 

With Modi listening, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pointed out that the Centre contributes only 12.63% to Namma Metro and also asked for faster approvals for Phase 3A, which will link Hebbal to Sarjapura over 36.59 km. 

Siddaramaiah maintained that the 58.19-km Phase 2A and 2B (Blue Line) — connecting the Outer Ring Road and the airport — would be completed by December 2027. 

Built over eight years for Rs 7,610 crore, the fully elevated Yellow Line connects RV Road to Bommasandra via Silk Board Junction and Electronics City. It provides metro connectivity to southern and southeastern Bengaluru and is aimed at decongesting Silk Board Junction.

Cut-off box - State bearing most Metro cost: CM
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised the BJP-led Union government in the presence of PM Modi on Sunday claiming that the Centre had failed to honour its promise to bear 50% of the metro costs and that the state government was bearing 87.37% of the costs.

Cut-off box - DKS seeks help for RRTS
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday urged Rs Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanction Rs 1.5 lakh crore for various projects in Bengaluru including building the tunnel road and five Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) lines spanning 394 km.