Bengaluru metro’s Yellow Line to be inaugurated on Sunday: Why the project was delayed for years

The project was delayed due to a host of issues ranging from land acquisition delays to rolling stock production problems, compounded by the India-China border conflict in 2020. Here is a look at how the project went off track, and eventually reached completion.

Missed deadlines & bottlenecks

The Yellow Line was originally outlined in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in 2011, with an estimated cost of Rs 4,255 crore and a targeted completion date of March 2016. Construction began in 2017 with a revised deadline of December 2021 and an updated budget of Rs 5,744 crore.

What followed was a series of bureaucratic delays, supply chain setbacks, and leadership lapses that repeatedly derailed the project timeline. Civil work gained momentum in 2018-19, but land acquisition delays began affecting project schedules. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic further stalled progress, causing widespread disruption in supply chains and manpower.

Geopolitical tensions between India and China following the 2020 Galwan clash delayed the supply of rolling stock from CRRC Nanjing, the Chinese train manufacturer. To tackle this issue, the government revised its strategy and directed CRRC to partner with Kolkata-based Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd to manufacture the trains domestically.

However, this localisation brought its own challenges: production line delays, visa issues for CRRC engineers, and hold-ups in delivering the Train Control and Management System (TCMS) software by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) further pushed the project timeline into uncertainty.

Attempt to fast-track the project

At this point, Bangalore South Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya pressed both state and central authorities to fast-track the remaining work. In 2023, he launched a campaign advocating for the appointment of a full-time managing director (MD) for BMRCL. After three months of sustained lobbying and meetings with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the state government, a dedicated MD was finally appointed — freeing up much-needed executive bandwidth to resolve bottlenecks. Meanwhile, the Yellow Line’s cost escalated to Rs 7,610 crore — about Rs 400 crore per km, representing a 32% increase from BMRCL’s original estimate.

Finally, CRRC delivered its first six-coach prototype (driverless with CBTC) train set in February 2024. Through collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Union Finance Ministry, issues related to visas and customs clearance for CRRC engineers and imported components were resolved to speed up coach production at the Titagarh factory.

On January 6, 2025, the first train set was rolled out and dispatched from Titagarh Rail Systems, followed by a second train set that arrived at Bengaluru’s Hebbagodi depot on February 9. Between April and May, six additional coaches reached Bengaluru, bringing the total to three train sets and prompting BMRCL to accelerate preparations for commercial operations.

Despite these advancements, BMRCL had not committed to an official launch date by mid-2025 due to delays in receiving the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) report, which would allow BMRCL to request a Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) inspection. The ISA report was delayed due to technical glitches discovered during the review of key datasets, requiring software updates. Without this report, BMRCL could not proceed with the mandatory CMRS inspection. However, ISA clearance was granted on July 19, after which CMRS inspection was requested.

Green light for commercial operations

On August 1, the CMRS cleared the Yellow Line for revenue operations but flagged several issues, including unauthorised welding work, incomplete structural tests, non-functional lifts, and incorrect signage at some stations.

On August 2, Union Minister for Home and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar announced that Prime Minister Modi would inaugurate the Yellow Line connecting RV Road to Bommasandra and lay the foundation stone for the 44.65-km Phase-3 expansion of Bengaluru Metro on August 10.

Currently, BMRCL plans to operate the Yellow Line from Monday (August 11) with three trains running at a frequency of 25 minutes from RV Road to Bommasandra.