Bengaluru Unveils Yellow Line and New Vande Bharat Trains

Bengaluru:

In a landmark development for the city’s transit infrastructure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the long anticipated Yellow Line of the Namma Metro and simultaneously flagged off three new Vande Bharat Express services from KSR Bengaluru railway station.

The Yellow Line, stretching approximately 19 km and featuring 16 elevated stations between RV Road (Ragigudda) and Bommasandra, had been under construction for eight years and finally saw its inauguration on Sunday, 10 August 2025. The project, carried out under Phase 2 of the metro expansion, is estimated to have cost around ₹7,610 crore.

Passenger services are scheduled to begin at 5 a.m. on Monday, 11 August, with three trainsets operating at 25-minute intervals, initially, between RV Road and Bommasandra. Fare for the journey will align with existing Namma Metro rates, ranging from ₹10 for short trips to ₹90 for longer cross line travel. The new line is expected to significantly ease congestion at tech centric and heavily trafficked corridors like Silk Board Junction and Electronics City.

During the inauguration, PM Modi joined Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on a ride from Ragigudda to Electronic City, offering him a firsthand glimpse of commuter convenience on the new line.

Concurrently, the Prime Minister inaugurated three new Vande Bharat Express trains, expanding the semi high speed rail network. One of these, the Bengaluru–Belagavi service, Karnataka’s 11th Vande Bharat Express, was flagged off physically at KSR Bengaluru station. The other two trains, connecting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra with Amritsar and Ajni (Nagpur) with Pune, were launched virtually.

These launches increase the total number of Vande Bharat trains in operation to 150 nationwide, underscoring the government’s commitment to improving intercity travel and modernising rail infrastructure.

At the event, disruptions were reported at the busy KSR Bengaluru railway station due to operational changes in connection with the flag off ceremony, though railway officials assured that these were kept to a minimum.

In addition to these inaugurations, the Prime Minister is slated to lay the foundation stone for the Phase 3 Metro project, set to extend over 44 km with 31 elevated stations and estimated at ₹15,610 crore, further advancing Bengaluru’s public transport blueprint.