Bengaluru: The wait for Namma Metro’s much-awaited Blue Line, connecting Silk Board and KR Pura along Bengaluru’s traffic-choked Outer Ring Road (ORR) and linking key IT corridors, is set to get longer. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) had earlier targeted opening the nearly 19-km stretch by the end of 2026. However, with several crucial civil and systems works still pending, sources said commercial operations are now likely to be pushed to early 2027 and could even be delayed until the middle of the year.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 work on Namma Metro’s Blue Line remains pending at several critical locations, including connectivity to the Byappanahalli depot, which is essential for the operation and maintenance of trains. Viaduct works are also incomplete at Marathahalli and Central Silk Board, while construction of several stations has been affected by site-specific and technical challenges.At Iblur, station construction began at a later stage due to the presence of a high-pressure GAIL gas pipeline, water pipelines and other underground utilities. Land acquisition issues and the time taken to finalise the design for integrating the Blue Line with the proposed Sarjapur–Hebbal Metro corridor have also contributed to the delay.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 crucial for providing the required track arrangement for train reversal. Drainage works at the location also delayed the handing over of sites for pillar construction.Construction of a travellator connecting the Blue Line station with the operational Yellow Line station is yet to begin, with the project currently in the tendering stage.Unlike the Yellow Line, whose opening was delayed for years due to the non-availability of rolling stock, the Blue Line has already started receiving train sets.With the Blue Line’s operations getting delayed, motorists using the ORR have another reason to worry. The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) is planning to take up white-topping works on the ORR, with the project proposed to begin in Oct 2026 and be completed by Jan 2027.The Rs 450-crore project proposal is expected to be placed before the cabinet for clearance in the coming days. Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byre Gowda has directed officials to engage with companies operating along the ORR and explore the possibility of facilitating 50% work-from-home arrangements during the construction period.In the absence of the Blue Line, the GBA’s plan to take up major road construction works is likely to test the patience of thousands of daily commuters using the ORR, already known for its severe traffic bottlenecks. An estimated 8 lakh to 10 lakh people work in hundreds of technology companies located along the corridor.Earlier, daily commuters had demanded that major road works on the ORR be taken up only after the Blue Line became operational to reduce inconvenience. However, with the Metro project itself facing delays, the city now appears to be heading towards a period when commuters may have to deal with both ongoing Metro construction and large-scale road works on one of Bengaluru’s busiest corridors.
