(), also known as Bengaluru Metro, is a rapid transit serving the city of Bengaluru, the capital city of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the Second largest metro network in India with an operational length of 96.1 km (51.7 mi), behind Delhi Metro as of April 2026. Namma Metro has a mix of underground, at grade, and elevated stations. Out of the 83 operational metro stations of Namma Metro as of August 2025, there are 74 elevated stations, eight underground stations and one at-grade station. The system runs on standard-gauge tracks.
Upon its inauguration in 2011, it became the first metro system in South India, and subsequently in 2016, the first underground metro in South India as well.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), a joint venture of the Government of India and the State Government of Karnataka, is the agency for building, operating and expanding the Namma Metro network. Services operate daily between 05:00 and 00:00 running with a headway varying between 3–15 minutes. The trains initially began with three coaches but later, all rakes were converted to six coaches as ridership increased. Power is supplied by 750V direct current through third rail.
Background The State Town Planning Department had recommended looking into a mass rapid transit project, i.e. a metro for Bengaluru city, back in 1977. A high-level Committee had also agreed that a metro study was warranted and a team from Southern Railway (SR) was commissioned to do this in 1981. The Southern Railway team recommended a two-corridor metro, in length, in addition to commuter rail lines and a circular railway.
In 1993, the State of Karnataka established another committee to look into mass rapid transit. This committee had again recommended the same metro project put forward by SR in 1983 along with the same circular railway. The state then created Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd (BMRTL) in 1994, with terms of reference to seek a public/private partnership for a mass rapid transit project. The government immediately introduced a special city cess dedicated to the anticipated mass rapid transit project. BMRTL commissioned a feasibility study which came up with an elevated, LRT-based, long network on six routes. A private consortium led by United Breweries Group undertook further development of the project on BOT basis. However, the project hadn't taken off.
Later in 2003, the Government of Karnataka commissioned the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which had successfully developed the Delhi Metro, to carry out a detailed preparation study for a metro in Bengaluru, to be done emulating the technical and financial aspects of the approach used in Delhi. The study recommended a 2-line cross shaped metro, and in length respectively. The intersection of the cross was to be at the Central Railway Station in Bengaluru, completely underground. The economic rate-of-return was forecast at 22.3%. The financial forecast assumes a government subsidy for interest payments and some depreciation, i.e. fare revenue would cover somewhat more than direct operating costs. The Government accepted this option. BMRTL ceased to exist and was replaced by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL).
DMRC prepared and submitted the detailed project for the first phase of Namma Metro in May 2003. The DPR was for a 2-lined cross shaped network with 32 stations for Phase-1 of the project, using standard gauge. The project was approved by the Union Cabinet on 25 April 2006.
Construction Phases Timeline
Phase 1 The foundation stone for construction of Phase-1 was laid by then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 24 June 2006. Navayuga Engineering Company Limited was awarded the first contract to construct Reach-1 of the east–west corridor (named Purple Line later) in 2006. Civil construction on the first section (Reach-1) of the Purple Line between Baiyyappanahalli and Mahatma Gandhi Road, commenced on 15 April 2007.
Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for a northern extension (from Yeshwanthapura to Nagasandra) and a southern extension (from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya Road to Yelachenahalli) of north–south corridor (named Green Line later) was submitted in October 2007 and June 2008 respectively. With these extensions, the total route length for Phase 1 became . The objective was to connect the metro to the Outer Ring Road at northern and southern ends, and also cover the industrial areas of Peenya in the north-west, thereby providing better connectivity and increasing ridership. In October 2008, the Government of Karnataka approved this extension, which would cost an additional ₹1,763 crore (US$250 million).
Underground section
Both lines in Phase-1 have tunnel sections in the city center, which are also the first metro tunnels built in South India. Construction of underground sections in Phase-1 commenced in late 2012. The delay was due to cancellation of the initial tenders called in early 2008 as the entire DPR had to be revised and bids received were too high. A second round of tendering was done in late 2009 with the gigantic Majestic inter-change station as a separate package. Bids were awarded for the tunnel sections in 2011 and construction began in 2012.
The tunnels bored with tunnel boring machines (TBMs), located approximately below ground level, have a diameter of and are apart. The TBMs were nicknamed Helen, Margarita, Kaveri, Krishna and Godavari.
Tunnel boring of underground section UG1 (on east–west corridor) was completed on 17 March 2014. Track works and 3rd rail electrification works were completed on the east–west tunnel of the Purple line between Cubbon Park and Magadi Road and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) began trials on 23 November 2015. The entire stretch of the Purple Line was opened on 29 April 2016.
Tunnel boring of underground section UG2 (on north–south corridor) was completed on 23 September 2016. The tunneling faced a major delay when the cutter head of TBM Godavari was broken and spares had to be awaited. Trial runs on the east–west tunnel of the Green line between Sampige Road and National College were commenced on 31 March 2017. The entire stretch of Green Line was opened on 19 June 2017, thus completing Phase-1 of the project.
Opening After missing deadlines, Namma Metro's first section (Reach-1) finally opened to the public on 20 October 2011. There was an overwhelming response by the public at commencement of operations. As per BMRCL sources, within the first 3 days of operations 169,019 people rode the metro. At the end of the 4th day, about 200,000 passengers had already commuted on Namma Metro. Namma Metro's first 12-day cumulative revenue was ₹1 crore (US$100,000).
The northern section of Green Line (Reach 3, 3A, 3B) was initially scheduled to be opened by the end of 2012. However, it was delayed and finally opened on 1 March 2014. BMRCL MD Pradeep Singh Kharola stated that about 25,000 passengers travelled on the line on the opening day. In the first month of operations, 7.62 lakh people used the line, at an average of 24,605 daily, generating revenues of ₹1.5 crore (US$210,000).
The first underground section (on the Purple line) commenced operations on 30 April 2016, providing connectivity between the east and west of the city. Subsequently, the second underground section, along with southern reaches (viz. Reach 4, 4A) was opened on 18 June 2017.
Once the east and west reaches were inter-connected with opening of the underground section of the purple line, ridership surged significantly. After the north–south underground section was opened (simultaneously with the elevated reach 4,4A in the south), the network provided connectivity in all four directions with interchange between the lines and this further increased ridership. Ridership kept increasing and was around 4,50,000 daily (September 2019).
Phase 1 lines and sections
Phase-1 consists of two lines spanning a length of , of which about is underground and about is elevated. There are 41 stations in Phase-1, of which seven stations are underground, one is at grade and 33 are elevated.
The first phase of the project was initially budgeted at ₹6,395 crore (US$875 million). With route extensions and cost escalation, this was later revised to ₹11,609 crores (US$1.6 billion). There were many delays during construction, as a result, there were several postponements. The difficult geological conditions below ground with a mix of soft soil, high groundwater levels, hard granite and large boulders was a major impediment for tunnel boring. A major delay was due to a broken cutter head of TBM Godavari for which spares had to be ordered from Italy. Phase 1, containing two lines aggregating was completed and services opened to the public on 19 June 2017. The final cost for Phase 1 was ₹14,405 crores.
Phase 1 networkNo.Line nameTerminalsStationsDistance (km)Opening date1 PurpleBaiyappanahalliMahatma Gandhi Road 620 October 2011Mahatma Gandhi RoadMagadi Road630 April 2016Magadi RoadMysuru Road5 16 November 20152 GreenMantri Square Sampige RoadPeenya Industry101 March 2014Peenya IndustryNagasandra31 May 2015Mantri Square Sampige RoadYelachenahalli1118 June 20174142.3 km
Phase 2 The State Government accorded approval for preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) for Phase 2 by DMRC on 4 January 2011. The high power committee (HPC) gave in-principle clearance to proceed with Phase-2 in July 2011. Karnataka government gave in-principle approval to Phase-2 of the Namma Metro project on 3 January 2012. However, there were delays in DPR preparation and hence approval from the Central Government. Phase-2 was cleared by the expenditure finance committee (EFC) in August 2013. The Union Cabinet finally announced that it had approved plans for Phase 2 on 30 January 2014.
The estimated cost for Phase-2 was ₹26,405 crore (US$3.7 billion) at 2011-12 price levels with escalation of 5% annually for 5 years. The State Government would contribute ₹9,000 crore (US$1.3 billion). The Union government would share that part of cost escalation due to increase in central levies, while the state and BMRCL would have to bear any other cost escalations. The total project cost for Phase-2 was estimated to reach ₹30,000 crore (US$4.2 billion) at the start of construction itself. In October 2018, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara stated that the cost of Phase-2 would be around ₹32,000 crore (US$4.5 billion). In May-2025, Karnataka government approved further cost escalation by Rs,9,729 crores. Thus, cost for phase-2 was revised at Rs.40,425 crores (US$5.7 billion)
After an extension of 3.195km to Challaghatta, Phase 2 spanned a total length of 75.29 km with 13.79km underground, at grade and elevated, and adds 62 stations to the network, of which 12 are underground. Phase-2 included extension of the two Phase-1 lines in both directions, as well as construction of two new lines.
The south end of the Green Line currently ends at Silk Institute (previously named Anjanapura) on Kanakapura Road, and the north end from extends until Madavara (previously named BIEC) on Tumkur Road (NH-4). The east end of the Purple Line would be extended from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield and the west end currently extends until Challaghatta. A new, long, fully elevated line (Yellow Line) was officially inaugurated on 10th August 2025, connecting RV Road to Bommasandra and passing through Electronic City. The second new line will be from Kalena Agrahara (previously Gottigere) to Nagawara. The line is mostly underground (), with a elevated section and a at-grade section. There are 18 stations on the line, of which 12 are underground and six are elevated. Unlike Phase-1, all stations being built in Phase-2 would have bus bays and/or parking facilities.