Bengaluru's Orange Line metro hit by delays, costs soar with double-decker plan

Bengaluru Metro

Residents of Bengaluru face a longer-than-anticipated wait for the city’s next major metro expansion, with the ambitious Phase 3 ‘Orange Line’ now expected to be completed by May 2031. The revised timeline, reported by The Hindu, is the result of a significant design overhaul that will see the integration of double-decker flyovers along certain stretches.

The project, which was officially launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2025, was originally slated for completion in 2030. However, officials from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) have confirmed that the new plan to build metro lines above road flyovers will necessitate a longer construction period. According to The Hindu, tenders for the massive project are now expected to be called in November 2025, with physical work likely to commence by December or early 2026.

This design shift, aimed at preemptively easing future road congestion, comes with increased financial and spatial demands. The BMRCL estimates the project's overall budget will swell by approximately 5% from its initial valuation of over Rs 15,611 crore. Furthermore, the construction of wider stations and associated road-widening measures will require the acquisition of more land.

The 44.65-kilometre Phase 3 network, comprising 31 elevated stations across two corridors - JP Nagar 4th Phase to Kempapura (32.15 km) and Hosahalla to Kadabagere (12.5 km) - is not the first to experiment with such infrastructure. The recently inaugurated Yellow Line already features South India’s first rail-cum-road viaduct near Ragigudda, which serves as a model for the new phase.

Once operational, the Orange Line is projected to serve 7.85 lakh passengers daily, significantly improving connectivity for underserved areas such as Magadi Road and the western Outer Ring Road. Its strength lies in its extensive interconnectivity, with planned links to the Green Line at JP Nagar and Peenya, the Purple Line at Mysuru Road and the Blue and Red Lines at Hebbal, in addition to creating new interchange points with the Pink Line.

The BMRCL plans to divide the construction work into at least eight packages, with an estimated build time of five and a half years once work is underway.