Last updated: 29 October 2026. We update this page as the status changes. Bookmark it rather than searching again.
Where things stand right now
The Namma Metro Pink Line’s 7.5 km elevated section — six stations from Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere along Bannerghatta Road — has its safety clearance and is waiting only for an inauguration date. The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety cleared the stretch on 28 October 2026, and BMRCL and the state government have asked the Centre to fix a date. Passenger service starts the day after the inauguration. Reports point to mid-November — 3 and 15 November are being mentioned, and the Prime Minister is due in Bengaluru on 15 November — but no date has been confirmed yet.
The 13.76 km underground section from Dairy Circle to Nagawara is targeted for December 2026.
What is still pending
Only one step is left: the inauguration date, which the Centre has to fix. The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety cleared the elevated section on 28 October 2026 — Deccan Herald reports the clearance comes with an 80 km/h speed limit for trains on the stretch. Minister Krishna Byre Gowda says the line will start public service as soon as a date is given.
It was never a construction problem. The line has been ready for months; it was the sequence of statutory certifications — speed trials, CMRS inspection, the independent signalling assessment and rolling stock approval — that moved the date five times.
Latest updates
28 October 2026 — the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety clears the Kalena Agrahara–Tavarekere elevated stretch for passenger service. Minister Krishna Byre Gowda says the line is ready to open as soon as the Centre gives an inauguration date; reports mention 3 or 15 November, neither confirmed. Passenger service begins the day after the inauguration.
8 October 2026 — the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety concludes a three-day inspection of the elevated stretch, covering track, power, signalling, stations and evacuation drills. The independent signalling assessment is already signed off. The remaining step is the formal authorisation to open; recent Bengaluru sections have moved from inspection to launch within days to a few weeks.
3 October 2026 — the end-September target is missed. Reports indicate the elevated section is now likely to open after mid-October, with the final CMRS clearance still pending. Wayfinding and platform systems at the stations are reported ready.
28 September 2026 — residents along Bannerghatta Road stage a tongue-in-cheek mock “inauguration” at Kalena Agrahara to protest the repeated delays.
3 September 2026 — Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda says the section is ready for passenger operations and the opening now depends on the Centre fixing a date.
2 September 2026 — Krishna Byre Gowda, MP Tejasvi Surya, MLA M. Krishnappa and BMRCL Managing Director P.C. Jaffer ride the corridor from Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere, part of the way in the pilot’s cabin, reviewing station works, security and operational systems. Surya says rolling stock approval is expected within about 15 days.
15 August 2026 — the Independence Day target is missed.
14 August 2026 — CMRS inspection concludes. Commissioner Janak Kumar Garg passes the trains and stations but withholds clearance pending the independent signalling safety assessment.
4 June 2026 — RDSO issues the speed certificate after twelve days of oscillation trials. Trains cleared for 90 kmph.
All 18 Pink Line stations
The Pink Line runs 21.26 km from Kalena Agrahara in the south to Nagawara in the north — six elevated stations along Bannerghatta Road and twelve underground through central Bengaluru. The underground stretch is the longest on the Namma Metro network.
Phase 1 — elevated, opening first
- Kalena Agrahara — southern terminus, Gottigere, Bannerghatta Road
- Hulimavu
- IIM Bangalore — beside the IIMB campus at Bilekahalli
- JP Nagar 4th Phase — near Vega City Mall on the Outer Ring Road
- Jayadeva Hospital — the tallest station on the network, five levels
- Tavarekere — previously called Swagath Road Cross
Phase 2 — underground, December 2026
- Dairy Circle — where the line goes below ground
- Lakkasandra — serving Wilson Garden
- Langford Town
- National Military School — also called Vellara Junction
- Mahatma Gandhi Road — Purple Line interchange
- Shivajinagar — Russell Market, Commercial Street
- Cantonment — near Bengaluru Cantonment railway station
- Pottery Town
- Tannery Road
- Venkateshpura
- Kadugondanahalli — formerly Arabic College, locally KG Halli
- Nagawara — northern terminus, near Manyata Embassy Business Park
What the Pink Line connects
When Phase 1 opens, Jayadeva Hospital becomes Bengaluru’s third working interchange, after Majestic and RV Road. It links the Pink Line to the Yellow Line, giving Bannerghatta Road a direct connection to Silk Board, Bommanahalli and Electronic City with one change — a journey that today means a long road trip through Silk Board junction.
When Phase 2 opens, Mahatma Gandhi Road becomes the Purple Line interchange, putting Bannerghatta Road one change from Indiranagar, Whitefield and Kengeri. Nagawara, close to Manyata Embassy Business Park, is planned as a future interchange with the Blue Line to Kempegowda International Airport.
Fares and timings
BMRCL has not published Pink Line fares or a timetable. Namma Metro prices by distance, and the current slabs — unchanged since 9 February 2025 — put a 6 to 8 km journey at ₹40. Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere is 7.5 km, so expect around that, with a discount on a smart card.
For reference, Namma Metro services generally start between 04:15 and 05:00 on weekdays and 07:00 on Sundays, with last trains between 22:45 and 23:05 depending on the line and direction. Pink Line times will be published when the line opens.
Treat both as estimates until BMRCL releases the official figures. We will update this page when they do.
How the opening date has moved
| Target | For |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Original Phase 2 completion, stated in 2020 |
| March 2025 | Whole Pink Line |
| December 2025 | Elevated section |
| May 2026 | Elevated section |
| July 2026 | Elevated section |
| 15 August 2026 | Elevated section |
| September 2026 | Elevated section |
| Mid-October 2026 | Elevated section |
| End of October 2026 | Elevated section — current |
| December 2026 | Underground section |
The full story: how the Pink Line was built
It started as the Red Line
When BMRCL published the Phase 2 plan in 2014, this corridor was the Red Line. The colour was changed to Pink in late 2019, on the reasoning that red means stop in transport signalling. The Red name went to a later Phase 3A corridor.
A cancelled tender round
Work on the elevated section began around 2018. The underground section was delayed by more than a year because BMRCL cancelled the original bids to break what officials described as a contractors’ nexus driving prices up. The work was re-awarded by splitting the underground section into four packages.
In March 2017 BMRCL had sought bids for the 7.5 km Kalena Agrahara to South Ramp section of five stations. Jayadeva Hospital was contracted separately to an HCC–URC joint venture.
Nine tunnel boring machines, twenty-six drives
Tunnelling began in July 2020 when TBM Urja started digging. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa flagged off the underground works between Cantonment and Tannery Road, saying at the time that Phase 2 would be complete by 2024 at a cost of ₹30,695 crore.
BMRCL deployed nine German-made Herrenknecht machines — Urja, Varada, Avni, Lavi, Vindhya, Vamika, Rudra, Tunga and Bhadra — across 26 tunnelling drives covering 20,992 metres of twin tunnels.
The first breakthrough came in September 2022, when Urja emerged at Shivajinagar after boring 855 metres from Cantonment.
A sinkhole at KG Halli
The final stretch was the hardest. In 2024, while TBM Tunga was boring the 938-metre drive from KG Halli to Nagawara, a sinkhole appeared on the road above the tunnelling section at around 8.30 in the morning. Work was stopped. It was one of several points on this corridor where machines got stuck or had to be halted.
Tunga recovered, and in July 2024 set a Namma Metro record — 308 metres of tunnelling in a month, beating the 273 metres Urja had managed between Cantonment and Pottery Town in May 2022.
Tunnelling completed, October 2024
Tunga broke breakthrough at Nagawara on 4 September 2024, completing the 25th of 26 drives and taking tunnelling to 98 per cent.
Bhadra, the ninth and final machine, emerged at the southern shaft near Nagawara at the end of October 2024, completing tunnelling on the Pink Line. Its last drive began on 2 April 2024 and took 212 days to bore 937 metres — an average of 4.41 metres a day.
Track and systems
Texmaco Rail and Engineering won a ₹521.76 crore contract to lay track across Namma Metro Phase 2. Ballastless track was laid between National Military School and Cantonment, with completion scheduled for October 2025.
On the underground section, civil and track work is now complete. Systems work is under way — air conditioning and ventilation, the environmental control system, cabling, and platform screen doors, which have been tested at MG Road.
One thing to check before opening day
Pedestrian access to several stations remains poor. At Kalena Agrahara, the approach from Gottigere and beyond NICE Road has stretches with no footpath at all, open drains alongside, and existing footpaths blocked by mud and waste. A temporary bus stop near the Himagiri Main Road junction has come up beside an open drain.
If you plan to walk to the station rather than drive, check your route before the first week rather than on it.
Frequently asked questions
Will the Pink Line connect to the airport?
Not directly. Nagawara, the northern terminus, is planned as an interchange with the Blue Line, which will run towards Kempegowda International Airport. The Blue Line is under construction with no confirmed opening date.
Is JP Nagar 4th Phase the same as JP Nagar metro station?
No. JP Nagar 4th Phase is on the Pink Line near the Outer Ring Road. JP Nagar is a separate, already operational Green Line station several kilometres away on Kanakapura Road. They are not connected.
Where does the Pink Line connect to other lines?
Jayadeva Hospital for the Yellow Line, with Phase 1. Mahatma Gandhi Road for the Purple Line, with Phase 2. Nagawara is planned as a future Blue Line interchange.
Which Pink Line stations open first?
Kalena Agrahara, Hulimavu, IIM Bangalore, JP Nagar 4th Phase, Jayadeva Hospital and Tavarekere.
How many stations are on the Pink Line?
Eighteen across 21.26 km — six elevated along Bannerghatta Road and twelve underground.
Why has the Pink Line been delayed so many times?
Construction has been complete for months. The delays come from the sequential nature of safety certification — RDSO speed trials, then CMRS inspection, then an independent signalling assessment, then Railway Board rolling stock approval. Each has to finish before the next begins.
When will the Namma Metro Pink Line open?
The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety cleared the elevated Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere section on 28 October 2026. It opens once the Centre fixes an inauguration date — reports point to mid-November 2026, not yet confirmed — and passenger service starts the day after. The underground section to Nagawara is targeted for December 2026.
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