Bengaluru Metro refutes reports indicating Yellow Line launch on Jan 6

This comes after Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya recently announced that the first driverless Metro train from TRSL will be ready to be dispatched to Bengaluru on January 6. The unavailability of rolling stock has been the primary reason for the delay in commissioning the Yellow Line.

China’s CRRC Corporation Ltd was awarded the contract to supply 216 new coaches for Bengaluru Metro’s 73.95 km Phase 2 project’s Purple Line (Line-1), Green Line (Line-2) and Yellow Line (Line-3). CRRC has partnered with Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL) to make trainsets in India to comply with local manufacturing norms.

The production and delivery of the first train from Titagarh has missed multiple deadlines and according to the BMRCL, the trainset is slated to reach Bengaluru’s Hebbagodi depot by January 15. Further, the second train is expected to be delivered by the end of January or first week of February and the third in April this year.

Surya said, “Titagarh has committed to deliver the second train by the end of January or first week of February and the third in April. Thereafter they will deliver 1 train per month and increase to 2 trains per month by September. I have also asked BMRCL to work parallel to get all…approvals in place, to prevent further delays on that count. I have requested Hon. MoHUA Minister to visit the manufacturing plant on 6th January, flag off the trains to Bengaluru and also inspect the plant to help further expedite things.”

BMRCL plans to commence operations with the three trains at a frequency of every 30 minutes. The operations for Yellow Line were expected to start in 2021, but challenges like Covid-19, procurement delays, trade restrictions with China, etc delayed the production and delivery of the trainsets.