Bengaluru Blue Line Metro trials to start in October along Outer Ring Road

The 19-kilometre Blue Line Metro stretch from KR Pura to Silk Board is officially set to enter its testing phase in October, according to an announcement made by Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. The corridor runs along the Outer Ring Road and falls under Phase 2A of the Bengaluru Metro project. The development of this new metro line is expected to ease traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road and benefit lakhs of commuters who use the route.

Although construction on the Blue Line has reached an advanced stage, work is still pending at three critical locations. Officials have been instructed by the minister to expedite progress to meet the October trial deadline. Following the start of the trials, obtaining statutory clearances for commercial operations is expected to take another five to six months before the line can open to the public.

Because of civil work delays, particularly at Marathahalli, the entire KR Pura to Silk Board stretch may not be ready for testing at the same time. Consequently, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is considering conducting partial trials first. These initial oscillation trials would be carried out on the KR Pura to Marathahalli section and will be conducted by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation.

In a key step towards testing and commissioning, BMRCL has started receiving trainsets for the Blue Line from BEML. While the arrival of these trains is a major milestone, the final schedule for commissioning the line will depend on the progress made at multiple construction sites.

The critical bottlenecks that will determine the corridor’s commissioning timeline include the Byappanahalli depot connectivity, Marathahalli, Iblur, and Silk Board. Although girder launching at Marathahalli was successfully completed in March, several follow-up works are still underway at the site.