Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the first section of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Pink Line, a 7.5-km elevated stretch between Kalena Agrahara and Tavarekere built at a cost of around Rs 3,470 crore.
Modi flagged off the line at Tavarekere station at around 12.45 pm and travelled by metro to the IIM Bangalore station. The new stretch will open to the public at 6 am on Saturday, 14 November.
01. Which stations are on the Pink Line stretch?
The elevated section runs along Bannerghatta Road and serves Kalena Agrahara, Hulimavu, IIM Bangalore, JP Nagar 4th Phase, Jayadeva Hospital, Ragigudda and Tavarekere. At Jayadeva Hospital, passengers can change to the Yellow Line.
02. Timings and fares
Five BEML-built trains will run on the stretch, with four in passenger service and one kept in reserve. During peak hours, trains will run every eight minutes. Fares on the new section will range from Rs 10 to Rs 30, under Namma Metro’s distance-based fare system.
03. What the Pink Line means for Bengaluru
The opening takes Bengaluru’s operational metro network past the 100-km mark, to about 103 km. The Pink Line is planned as a 21.25-km corridor from Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara in north Bengaluru. The remaining 13.76-km underground section, from Dairy Circle to Nagawara, is undergoing systems testing and is expected to open by May 2027.
During the same visit, Modi flagged off the Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express, which will run via Hassan, Sakleshpur, Mangaluru, Udupi, Murdeshwar, Gokarna and Karwar to Madgaon in Goa. He also inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth more than Rs 15,600 crore in Bengaluru.
For commuters on Bannerghatta Road, one of the city’s busiest corridors, the new line should cut travel time and ease traffic congestion in south Bengaluru.
