Namma Metro (Bangalore)

Namma Metro is the rapid transit system serving the Bengaluru metropolitan area, operated by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). The system began operations on 20 October 2011 with the Reach 1 segment of the Purple Line, making it India's third operational metro after Kolkata and Delhi, and the first metro in south India.

The network currently spans 76.95 km across two lines: the **Purple Line** (East-West) connecting Whitefield to Challaghatta via Indiranagar and Majestic, and the **Green Line** (North-South) connecting Madavara to Silk Institute via Yeshwanthpur and Majestic. The two lines intersect at Majestic, Bengaluru's primary interchange station and India's largest underground metro station by area.

Phase 1 (42.3 km, opened 2011-2017) was delivered at ₹13,845 crore. Phase 2 (74 km, ongoing through 2025) extends both lines plus adds the new Yellow, Pink, and Blue lines to the network — most under tendering or construction. JICA, the World Bank, and AFD have collectively funded ~65% of the network through soft loans.

Daily ridership averages ~720,000 (as of 2024). The system uses 6-coach BEML/CRRC rolling stock with regenerative braking and is known for its punctuality (>99.9% on-time performance) and integration with Bengaluru's bus rapid transit (BMTC).

Notable engineering challenges included tunnelling through Bengaluru's hard basement granite (which slowed TBM progress) and threading new alignments through the city's tightly packed central business district.