Bengaluru: Girder work for Blue Line depot entry at Benniganahalli begins following SWR clearance

After a delay of nearly one and a half months, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has commenced the erection of composite girders for the Blue Line depot entry at Benniganahalli from Friday night. The work resumed following mandatory approval from South Western Railway (SWR).

According to officials, BMRCL has been permitted to proceed under the provisions of the Indian Railway Schedule of Dimensions and the AC Traction Manual. “The work will be executed by the BMRCL under railway supervision,” an official said.

The project had been stalled since late July as the railway zone had not granted night track block, power block, and speed restriction approvals needed for girder launching over the Salem railway line. “The delay has impacted timelines for the Central Silk Board–Baiyyappanahalli stretch of the ORR Metro Blue Line,” another official said.

In February this year, BMRCL successfully launched four composite steel girders across the Salem Bridge between the ISRO and Doddanekundi metro stations. That operation, considered a critical milestone for Phase 2A of the project, involved complex engineering given the active railway alignment.

The ORR–Airport Metro, also called the Blue Line, is one of Bengaluru’s most ambitious metro corridors. It is scheduled for completion by December 2027 and spans 58.19 km, linking Central Silk Board Junction in the south with Kempegowda International Airport in the north.

The line is divided into two sections: Phase 2A, covering 19.75 km from Silk Board to Krishnarajapura (K.R. Puram), and Phase 2B, a 38.44-km stretch from K.R. Puram to the airport. Together, they will provide an uninterrupted metro corridor along the city’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) and onward to the airport.