BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s much-anticipated Blue Line Metro corridor is facing yet another delay with commercial operations on the nearly 19-km stretch from Silk Board to KR Pura now expected to begin only in early 2027 and possibly slip further into the middle of the year.The corridor was previously scheduled to be in service by the end of 2026. Several key civil and systems works are yet to be completed and it will be difficult to meet the original deadline, said senior officials of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.The delay is especially noteworthy because the Blue Line runs along the heavily congested Outer Ring Road and connects major technology and employment hubs. The corridor is seen as an important alternative to public transport for commuters who now use road transport extensively.The most recent delay is attributed to a number of construction issues. The viaduct work at Marathahalli and the Central Silk Board is still not complete and some of the stations have run into technical and site-specific issues.The station construction at Iblur was affected by the high pressure GAIL gas pipeline, water pipelines and other underground utilities. The progress has also been hampered due to the land acquisition issues and the process of finalizing the design for integration with the proposed Sarjapur-Hebbal Metro corridor.The Central Silk Board is another important challenge. The site clearance and permissions for the viaduct pillars were obtained too late, while the drainage work delayed the handing over of the construction sites. The viaduct is yet to be complete as it is necessary for the track layout needed for the reversal of trains.The planned connection between the Blue Line and the operating Yellow Line isn’t even complete. Work on a travellator linking the two stations has not yet begun and is still at the tendering stage.Bengaluru road commuters are in for a very awkward situation as there is another major infrastructure project on the same corridor. The delay is worsening things. The Greater Bengaluru Authority is planning a white-topping project on the Outer Ring Road at Rs 450 crore, with work proposed to be taken up from October 2026 to January 2027, pending approval.That means commuters could face major road construction at a time when the Metro alternative is not yet in place. The ORR is one of the most congested corridors in Bengaluru, with nearly eight lakh to 10 lakh people working in hundreds of technology companies along the stretch.Commuters and companies had been asking for big road work to be planned after the Blue Line started service, so Metro could offer an alternative while it was happening. But with the Metro now delayed, that sequencing has been made more difficult.The government has also considered 50% work from home option for the companies along the ORR during the road construction period.
