PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Namma Metro Yellow Line and lay foundation for Phase 3 on August 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Yellow Line of Namma Metro on August 10 and lay the foundation stone for Metro Phase 3, also known as the Orange Line.

Manohar Lal Khattar, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Tejasvi Surya, Bangalore South MP, made the announcement on their X accounts on Sunday.

They also said that the Prime Minister would also lay the foundation stone for 44.65 km of Metro Phase 3 at a cost of ₹15,611 crore on August 10. The Yellow and THE Orange Lines together will benefit nearly 25 lakh people in Bengaluru South, Mr. Surya posted on Sunday.

The 19.15-km Yellow Line, built at a cost of ₹5,056.99 crore, connects R.V. Road and Bommasandra in South Bengaluru and includes 16 stations, such as BTM Layout, Silk Board, Electronics City, and Hebbagodi. Once operational, the line is expected to ease traffic congestion in several major bottlenecks and heavily congested corridors like Hosur Road, Silk Board Junction, and Electronics City Junction.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) began civil works for the Yellow Line in 2017, three years after receiving approval from the Central government. Although the original deadline was set for early 2023, civil works were only completed in 2024. The delay was primarily owing to the late arrival of train sets.

Initially, the plan was to open seven stations on the Yellow line, with trains running every 15 minutes. However, BMRCL is now planning to make all 16 stations operational from the start, using three driverless trains running at 25-minute intervals.

Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL), the company supplying trains for the Yellow Line to BMRCL, has already delivered three train sets ready to be deployed. A fourth train set has been dispatched and is expected to arrive soon.

The inauguration announcement came two days after BMRCL received safety clearance for the Yellow Line from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS).

Once the fourth train set arrives, it will undergo safety and operational checks before being inducted into service. It may take about a month for the fourth train to begin operations. At full capacity, the Yellow Line will operate 15 trains, significantly reducing waiting times, although this level of service is expected only by next year.

Long delay to open Yellow Line

In 2019, BMRCL awarded the train supply contract to a Chinese company. However, the Indian government later banned Chinese firms from participating in Indian government tenders and contracts fololwing the Galwan stand off in 2020.

Eventually, the Chinese firm partnered with TRSL to begin delivering train sets. The first prototype train was sent in early 2024, with testing beginning in November. TRSL is expected to complete delivery of all Yellow Line train sets by next year.