December 2026 is fresh deadline for Bengaluru suburban rail’s two corridors

In June 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the project would be completed in 40 months, which is by August 2025.

Somanna said the total cost of the four corridors would be Rs 15,767 crore, of which 20 per cent each would be borne by the Central and state governments and the remainder raised as loans.

He was speaking after a meeting that he chaired along with Karnataka Industries Minister M B Patil to review railway projects in the state.

According to a note issued by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited, or K-RIDE, a Rs 859.97-crore tender for corridor 2 was awarded in August 2022, while a Rs 1,040.51-crore tender for corridor 4 was awarded on December 30, 2023. Larsen & Toubro is building both corridors.

For corridor 1, the revised alignment plan was submitted in June. This is expected to come up in two packages–package 1A, running a length of 17.63 km from Majestic to Yelahanka, and the 23-km package 1B, from Yelahanka to Devanahalli. Corridor 3, from Kengeri to Bangalore Cantonment, is awaiting the Railways’ approval, according to the note.

Somanna said the deadline for these two corridors would be announced within three months.

According to the minister, the Railways will also take up projects to improve connectivity between ports and industries. These include track-doubling work between Bengaluru and Mangaluru and work on the Hubballi-Ankola line, aimed at improving connectivity to the Mangaluru and Karwar ports, respectively.

Industries Minister Patil said the meeting also discussed the progress of the four-laning of railway tracks from Bengaluru and Tumakuru, as well as measures to make the railways, metro and the suburban rail complementary to each other.