Bengaluru: The newly appointed BMRCL managing director, Jaffer PC, said Thursday that commissioning Pink Line and expediting construction of Blue Line connecting to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will be his priorities.Pink Line has missed multiple deadlines, and the latest was Aug 15. Jaffer said BMRCL is coordinating with multiple authorities to obtain approvals for the elevated stretch of Pink Line between Kalena Agrahara and Tavarekere on Bannerghatta Road for passenger services.“There are multiple stages of regulatory approvals. We expect to receive Railway Board’s approval for signalling system in the next couple of days. Then comes the interim speed certificate from Research Designs and Standards Organisation. We’ve already requested the chief commissioner of railway safety (CCRS) to inspect the rolling stock, and the commissioner has agreed,” he said.The CCRS inspection of the rolling stock is likely between Aug 12 and 14. The approval of Railway Board is required for rolling stock.Following this, the commissioner of metro railway safety (CMRS) will carry out a comprehensive inspection of the corridor: Trial run, signalling and telecom systems, integration of all safety systems, stations, track, power supply, passenger facilities and other operational aspects. After receiving the final clearance, the line will be opened for public use,” he said.BMRCL is likely to receive all the required approvals by the end of Sept, sources said.Under Phase II, BMRCL is constructing the 21km Pink Line from Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara. In the first phase, the 7km elevated section from Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere, comprising six stations, will be opened. The remaining underground section from Dairy Circle to Nagawara is likely to be commissioned by March 2027.BMRCL has already received eight Metro trainsets for the new line. For the elevated section, it is likely to deploy 3-4 trainsets initially.The new MD said measures are being taken to expedite the ongoing 58km Blue Line project from Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). BMRCL has already announced that trial runs on the Outer Ring Road section between KR Pura and HSR Layout are expected to start by Oct. BMRCL had earlier set a 2026 deadline for opening KR Pura-Central Silk Board line.On deploying additional trains on Green Line, he said CMRS will inspect the newly received trainsets and their integration with the signalling system. CMRS officials are already in Bengaluru to carry out pre-inspection checks and verify various technical parameters.Sources said four additional trainsets for the operational corridors are under production at Titagarh Rail Systems and will be delivered in a phased manner.Green Line at reduced frequency on FridayBMRCL will temporarily reduce the frequency of Green Line services on Friday night to facilitate inspection of new trainsets: trains between Yeshwantpur and Madavara will run every 20 minutes instead of 10 from 10.30pm until the end of service; trains from Madavara to Silk Institute will continue as per the normal schedule.
