Bengaluru’s Metro Pink Line is set for inauguration on November 13, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to flag off the first operational stretch and travel by train from Tavarekere, also referred to as Suchaguntapalya, to the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Commercial services on the new corridor are expected to begin on Saturday.
The first phase being opened is a 7.5-kilometre elevated section between Tavarekere and Kaalena Agrahara. The six stations on the stretch have been decorated for the inauguration, while the new train assigned for the event has also been specially prepared. The Greater Bengaluru Authority has undertaken road resurfacing and pothole-filling work around the stations ahead of the programme.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at the Tavarekere Metro station at 12.45 pm to flag off the train. Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Urban Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and senior Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited officials are expected to travel on the inauguration train. School students and women Metro officials have also been given an opportunity to accompany the Prime Minister, according to the report.
The Pink Line will add a new north-south connection to Bengaluru’s existing Purple, Green and Yellow lines. The corridor will initially connect with the Yellow Line at Jayadeva Hospital station, which serves the R.V. Road–Bommasandra route. Once the underground section is completed, Mahatma Gandhi Road station is expected to provide another interchange for passengers.
The remaining 13.75-kilometre underground section is expected to open by the end of May 2027. Together, the elevated and underground stretches are intended to connect southern Bengaluru with the city’s northern areas, while also improving transfers between the expanding Metro network’s corridors.
The inauguration is part of a wider programme at IIM Bangalore, where the Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development projects valued at more than Rs 15,600 crore. He is also expected to address a public meeting after the Metro programme. Separately, a new Vande Bharat Express connecting Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Madgaon will be launched virtually from the IIM Bangalore auditorium. A related event is scheduled at Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal in Baiyappanahalli, with Union Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna among those expected to attend.
The Metro inauguration has also revived a dispute over the financing of Bengaluru’s projects. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said in a social media post that Metro projects had involved expenditure of Rs 77,891 crore, with the Centre providing Rs 12,600 crore directly and guaranteeing loans of Rs 28,958 crore. He said the Centre’s share was 54% and the state’s 46%, while arguing that the loans were to BMRCL and not state government debt.
Byre Gowda said his scheduled speech had been removed from the final programme and questioned the decision. Minister Ramalinga Reddy, meanwhile, said the Pink Line had been approved during the United Progressive Alliance government and that the revised project cost was Rs 17,346 crore, with the state’s share amounting to Rs 12,000 crore. The commercial opening of the elevated section on Saturday and completion of the underground section by May 2027 are the next stated milestones for the corridor.
