Bengaluru Metro Blue Line deadline pushed to 2027

The opening of Bengaluru’s much-awaited Namma Metro Blue Line, connecting Silk Board and KR Pura through the Outer Ring Road (ORR), is likely to be delayed again, with commercial operations now expected in early 2027 and potentially extending to the middle of the year.

The nearly 19-km corridor was earlier expected to become operational by the end of 2026. However, several civil and systems works are still incomplete at key locations, making the earlier deadline difficult to meet. The Times of India reported that work remains pending at locations including the Byappanahalli depot connection, Marathahalli and Central Silk Board.

A senior BMRCL official said construction of the Blue Line viaduct between KR Pura and Silk Board was progressing well.

“Earlier, there were plans to start trial runs between KR Pura and HSR Layout by Oct. We are trying to achieve this milestone. However, with works still pending at multiple locations, meeting the commercial operation target within 2026 is not feasible. The deadline for starting train operations will now be pushed to 2027,” the official said.

Construction is also pending at the Byappanahalli depot, which is required for train operations and maintenance. Viaduct work remains incomplete at Marathahalli and Central Silk Board.

At Iblur, station construction started later because of a high-pressure GAIL gas pipeline, water pipelines and other underground utilities.

Land acquisition issues and the time required to finalise the design for integrating the Blue Line with the proposed Sarjapur-Hebbal Metro corridor have also affected progress.

At Central Silk Board, permissions and site clearance for constructing viaduct pillars were received late from civic agencies and traffic police. The pending viaduct is important for providing the track arrangement required for train reversal. Drainage work at the location also delayed the handing over of sites for pillar construction.

A travellator connecting the Blue Line station with the operational Yellow Line station has also not yet begun, with the project currently at the tendering stage.

The Blue Line delay comes as the Greater Bengaluru Authority plans white-topping work on the ORR. The project is proposed to begin in October 2026 and be completed by January 2027, with the Rs 450 crore proposal expected to be placed before the cabinet for clearance.

Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byre Gowda has directed officials to engage with companies operating along the ORR and explore the possibility of facilitating 50 per cent work-from-home arrangements during the construction period.

An estimated 8 lakh to 10 lakh people work in hundreds of technology companies along the corridor. Commuters had earlier demanded that major ORR road works be taken up only after the Blue Line became operational to reduce disruption.