The Yellow Line of Namma Metro is under construction and will form part of the metro rail network for the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The 18.82 km (11.69 mi) line connects R.V. Road with Bommasandra and is fully elevated with 16 stations.[1] R.V. Road station is the terminal station on the city side where an interchange is being provided with the Green Line. Jayadeva Hospital station will serve as another elevated interchange station with the Pink Line[2] that is also under construction in Phase ll of Namma Metro's expansion. Upon its opening, Jayadeva Station will be the tallest and largest metro station in Bengaluru, with 5 levels of transport, including the metro lines. Central Silk Board station will be another interchange station between the Yellow Line and Blue Line. The other end of the Yellow Line will terminate at Bommasandra.[3] The line was scheduled to open in June 2023, but due to construction delays, it was scheduled around July 2024.[4][5] But now as per latest reports, the Yellow Line will be operational from November 2024. [6] This postpone has been attributed to delay in delivery of coaches from China. [7]
Reports have been shared from higher officials that the CMRS for this upcoming line under Namma Metro is getting geared up and is scheduled to conduct a full thorough inspection during the month-end of October 2024. This will ensure all the safety regulations for the passengers to have a hassle-free experience in this metro line. [8][9][10]
Planning
Namma Metro's Phase ll includes four to five new lines - Yellow and Pink Lines, as well as extensions of Purple Line and Green Line.[1] Phase II spans a length of 72.095 km (44.798 mi) (13.79 km (8.57 mi) underground, 0.48 km (0.30 mi) at grade and 57.825 km (35.931 mi) elevated) and adds 61 stations to the network of which 12 are underground.[11]
Tenders for the construction of the Yellow Line (between R V Road and Bommasandra) were floated in 3 packages.[12] On 9 December 2016, BMRC floated tenders for the construction of 6.418 km (3.988 mi) stretch from Bommasandra to Hosa Road station. The work involves the construction of a viaduct with five stations and includes the construction of the depot entry line leading to Hebbagodi depot.[13] Tenders for the 6.385 km (3.967 mi) stretch from Hosa Road to Bommanahalli (previously HSR Layout) were floated the next day.[14] Both packages were awarded to Thai-based ITD Cementation India in May 2017 for ₹511.35 and 485.52 crores (US$140 mil totally).[15] Civil works began in November 2017.
The third tender for construction of the 6.34 km (3.94 mi) elevated section and 5 stations was awarded to a joint venture between Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) and URC Construction Pvt Ltd. on 3 July 2017 for ₹797.29 crore (US$96 million).
For Phase-2 of Namma Metro, the Central and State Governments will fund around ₹15,000 crore. The State and Central Governments will bear 30% and 20% of the project cost respectively. The remaining will be obtained through senior term loans. BMRCL is permitted to raise up to ₹9,000 crore through loans.
Indian firms Biocon and Infosys announced that they would provide funding construction of the Biocon Hebbagodi and Infosys metro stations respectively on the Yellow Line. Each firm will contribute ₹100 crore (US$12 million) towards the project. Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw stated that the company wanted to fund the project because it would help de-congest the city. Both Biocon and Infosys have offices located near the stations.[17]
Infrastructure
Rolling stock
BMRC plans to operate driverless trains on the Yellow Line with Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system.[18] On 2 December 2019, BMRC awarded a contract for supplying 90 coaches (15 rakes) to CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd with CBTC signaling for the Yellow Line.[19] CRRC had entered into partnership with Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) to meet the condition of at least 75% of the coaches be made in India. As a result, only one prototype train set will be manufactured in China. The prototype has been shipped from China to Bengaluru at the Hebbagodi Depot, which arrived on February 14, 2024, at 3:45 am.[20][21][22][23] With the arrival of the trainset, this will undergo rigorous and static testing within the depot, inclusive of the tracks present at the depot. It is slated to start operations around December 2024, subject to arrival of train sets. [24][25]
The contract for the construction of the Hebbagodi depot was awarded to Parnika Commercial & Estates(P) Ltd in July 2019.[26]
Stations
The Yellow Line is fully elevated and will have 16 stations.