Bengaluru Pink Line begins operations today; BMRCL announces timings as commuters seek faster completion of underground section

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar purchasing tickets before boarding the newly inaugurated Namma Metro Pink Line in Bengaluru on Friday. Train services on the elevated section of Bengaluru Metro’s Pink Line between Kalena Agrahara and S.G.

Palya will commence on Saturday, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) announced on Friday, following its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the opening of the partial stretch has drawn mixed reactions from commuters, with several pointing out that the elevated section alone is unlikely to make a significant difference to the city’s overall metro connectivity.

They have urged the BMRCL to expedite the completion and opening of the underground section, which is crucial to connecting south Bengaluru with the Central Business District (CBD) and north Bengaluru. According to the schedule released by the BMRCL, the first train on Mondays will depart from Kalena Agrahara at 4.55 a.m., while services from S.G.

Palya will begin at 5 a.m. From Tuesday to Saturday, the first trains will operate from both terminal stations at 6 a.m. On Sundays, services will commence at 7 a.m. The early start on Mondays is intended to accommodate passengers arriving in Bengaluru from other parts of the State after the weekend, officials said.

The last train will depart from Kalena Agrahara at 10.50 p.m. and from S.G. Palya at 10.54 p.m. Trains will operate at eight-minute intervals during peak hours from Monday to Friday. During non-peak hours on weekdays, the frequency will be 10 minutes.

On Saturdays and Sundays, trains will run every 10 minutes throughout operating hours. The BMRCL said the frequency of services would be revised depending on passenger traffic patterns. Manjunath K., a resident of Hulimavu, also questioned the operational schedule, stating that the timings indicated the BMRCL’s expectations of relatively low ridership on the partial stretch.

“The way the BMRCL has announced the timings for the Pink Line shows that it is expecting low ridership. They know that opening a small stretch will not have a major impact on passenger numbers. However, commuters travelling towards the Green and Yellow lines can interchange at the Jayadeva Hospital Metro Station and reach other destinations.

The connectivity to the CBD and north Bengaluru, which is the primary purpose of this line, is still not fulfilled,” he said. Meanwhile, the BMRCL has fixed fares on the operational section of the Pink Line between ₹10 and ₹30, depending on the distance travelled.

Passengers travelling from Suddagunte Palya to Kalena Agrahara will have to pay ₹30. In a move to strengthen last-mile connectivity, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will introduce five dedicated feeder bus services connecting key Pink Line Metro stations with nearby residential and commercial areas from November 14.

The services will cover neighbourhoods including Hulimavu, Tavarekere, J.P. Nagar and Uttarahalli. A total of 28 buses will operate 401 trips across the five routes. The routes include services from the Jayadeva Hospital Metro Station to Uttarahalli, feeder connections between Jayadeva Hospital and Tavarekere, a circular service from J.P.

Nagar 4th Phase Metro Station, a route connecting Hulimavu and Singasandra, and another circular service from the Tavarekere Metro Station. The BMTC and the BMRCL have jointly installed LED displays at Tavarekere and IIMB metro stations to provide real-time estimated arrival times of the connecting BMTC buses.

The facility is expected to be extended to other metro stations in phases.