Bengaluru: BMRCL has announced that the first phase of the Blue Line of Namma Metro, linking Central Silk Board with KR Pura, will become operational around mid-2026. The 18km line runs along Outer Ring Road (ORR) and through a major IT corridor in the city.
BMRCL MD Maheshwar Rao on Friday exuded confidence of meeting the timeline, saying: “We should be able to start the service around June next year. Let us see. It may slip by 2-3 months. Trains will come, and depending on the availability of labour, we will speed up the work. We are hopeful of opening the line in the June-Sept window.”
Rao was participating in the launch of ‘Stamp: Nudging Commuter Behaviour’ aimed at promoting public transport use. The event was organised by Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA), in collaboration with Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and WRI India.
Providing an update on the Yellow Line (RV Road to Bommasandra) connecting Electronics City, Rao said BMRCL hopes to start the services by the end of May, as announced by DyCM DK Shivakumar.
“We already have two train sets. Most of the tests are over. I think we’ll be able to finish or get approval from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety by the first week of May. But the other part is that we require at least three trains so that you can make headway,” he said.
The official said initial operations on the Yellow Line will handle 5,400 passengers per hour, helping 2,000 vehicles go off the roads. While operating with three train sets, services will be made available at only five stations. He added that in the next one-and-a-half years, 15 train sets will be deployed for service, running at a frequency of 5-6 minutes at all Metro stations along the line.
The Namma Metro chief also sought help from companies in promoting the public transport system. “We are expecting more people from the Yeshwanthpur side and RV Road side once the Yellow Line gets operational,” he said.
Admitting that the recent Metro fare hike left ‘people worried’, the official said BMRCL is now working on providing first and last-mile connectivity.
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Innovation challenge launched
The Station Access and Mobility Program (Stamp) Innovation Challenge, launched Friday, is an innovation competition seeking solutions to boost Metro ridership in Electronics City. The challenge is also open for global innovators, provided they partner with an Indian entity. The primary focus is on utilising behavioural science principles to improve public transport experiences.
Solutions should encompass gamification (incentives for eco-friendly transport choices), real-time nudges (prompts during peak transit times to encourage shared mobility and reduce congestion) and inclusive access (behaviour-based solutions for improving last-mile connectivity, affordability, security, and user convenience for diverse commuter needs). The challenge will run from April to June this year.
Selected participants will share a USD 100,000 implementation grant for solution development and testing. Additionally, participants will attend a boot camp at Ashoka University’s Centre for Social and Behaviour Change to gain behavioural science expertise.
The finalists will benefit in three key areas: Enterprise (support in business growth, pilot planning, govt liaison tools, and technical guidance), exposure (access to subject matter experts, govt officials, and local authorities for guidance) and financial support (prize money awarded to shortlisted teams).
The challenge is organised by ELCIA and WRI India for all 200+ member companies in Electronics City (with 200,000+ employees) along with TMF and is supported by BMRCL and BMTC. Senior representatives from Infosys, Biocon, Wipro, Tata Power, Titan and many other companies joined the launch event and expressed their interest in supporting the challenge and participating in the increased adoption of public transport.
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