Bangalore Metro’s Yellow Line opens: How the new 19 km route improves access to Electronic City

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Yellow Line of Bangalore Metro, also known as Namma Metro, giving a major boost to the urban mobility in the city.

The new line, built at a cost of ₹7,160 crore as part of Metro Phase-2 project, connects RV Road (Ragigudda) and Bommasandra in the  Electronic City – one of India's largest technology and industrial clusters. 

There are 16 elevated stations on the route—Ragigudda, Jayadeva Hospital, BTM Layout, Central Silk Board, Bommanahalli, Hongasandra, Kudlu Gate, Singasandra, Hosa Road, Beratena Agrahara, Electronic City, Infosys Foundation Konappana Agrahara, Huskuru Road and Biocon Hebbagodi.

With the opening of this yellow line, the operational metro network in Bengaluru will increase to over 96 km, serving a large population in the region.

The Yellow Line is likely to decongest the IT corridor, which keeps making global headlines for traffic jams despite the many urban mobility initiatives taken to cut down the travel time.

"This area used to experience a lot of traffic. It was very difficult even for the ambulance to reach here. Now more than 6 lakh people will be able to travel daily through this yellow metro line, which will reduce traffic and open up that route,” Union minister Shobha Karandlaje said.

After inaugurating the project, the prime minister undertook a metro ride from RV Road (Ragigudda) to the Electronic City metro station. 

He also laid the foundation stone of the Bengaluru Metro Phase-3 project worth over Rs 15,610 crore. The total route length of the project will be more than 44 km with 31 elevated stations. 

According to an official release, the project will address the growing transportation needs of the city, catering to residential, industrial, commercial and educational areas.

Earlier, the prime minister flagged off three Vande Bharat Express trains at KSR Railway Station. They include trains from Bengaluru to Belagavi, Amritsar to Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Nagpur (Ajni) to Pune. 

These high-speed trains will significantly enhance regional connectivity, reduce travel time and provide a world-class travel experience to the passengers, the PMO said.