Bengaluru’s Pink Line Metro misses another deadline, now set for 2026 in two phases

The Pink Line is a crucial part of Namma Metro’s Phase 2 expansion and aims to provide a much-needed north-south connection.

The much-delayed Pink Line of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro has hit yet another roadblock, with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) announcing a fresh postponement in its completion timeline.

The elevated stretch of the line, a 7.5-km segment between Kalena Agrahara on Bannerghatta Road and Tavarekere.

According to a report by The Hindu, initially slated to be operational in 2020 and later revised to December 2025, the 21.3-km corridor is now expected to be ready in two separate phases, extending well into 2026.

According to BMRCL, the elevated stretch of the line, a 7.5-km segment between Kalena Agrahara on Bannerghatta Road and Tavarekere, will be opened by March 2026.

The more complex underground section, measuring 13.8 km from Dairy Circle to Nagawara, is projected to be completed and operational by September 2026, the report further added.

The Pink Line is a crucial part of Namma Metro’s Phase 2 expansion and aims to provide a much-needed north-south connection between Kalena Agrahara in the south and Nagawara in the north, passing through dense and high-traffic areas of the city. The line includes 18 stations in total, with significant stretches underground to minimise disruption in the congested central business district.

Why the delay?

The project has suffered from prolonged delays, primarily due to the challenges involved in the underground tunnelling work. The terrain under Bengaluru, officials explained, consists of extremely hard granite and even tougher dolerite rock, making the drilling and boring process particularly difficult. A senior BMRCL official noted, “Granite is already a major challenge for tunnel boring machines, but the presence of dolerite made progress painfully slow in some sections.”

One of the most technically demanding stretches of the corridor was the 2.2-km tunnel between Shivajinagar and Vellara Junction. This segment became a major bottleneck in the project due to the rock density and urban infrastructure constraints above ground.

Despite the setbacks, BMRCL achieved a significant milestone in October 2024 when it completed tunnelling work on the Pink Line, making it the longest underground section in Bengaluru’s metro network to date. While the actual underground route is 14 km long, the tunnelling distance extended to 21 km because of the twin-tunnel design required for metro operations.

The elevated segment, by contrast, has progressed more steadily. BMRCL had awarded the construction tender for the 7.5-km viaduct back in 2017, and physical infrastructure such as piers and track beds is already visible along parts of the route.