Bengaluru Metro yellow line delay: Mohandas Pai wants official responsible suspended. 'Lousy work'

'Is there any trust in Metro deadlines now?' TV Mohandas Pai asked Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Sivakumar.

The repeated delays in the completion of Bengaluru's Namma Metro Yellow Line have drawn sharp criticism from Padma Shri Awardee and former Infosys CFO TV Mohandas Pai. In a post on X, Pai called for the suspension of the official responsible, citing a "lousy work culture."

Pai directly questioned Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar about the ongoing delays. "Minister DK Shivakumar, what is happening? Is there no value in deadlines? Delay after delay! Is there any management at all. They are letting you down very badly again and again. Please suspend the official responsible. Very bad lousy work culture. This could have been done long back," he wrote, asking, "Is there any trust in Metro deadlines now?"

The 19.15-km Yellow Line, connecting RV Road with Bommasandra, was initially expected to be operational by mid-2024. It is, however, unlikely to open before the end of July or even August, Deccan Herald reported. The delay is caused by critical problems with the train's signalling system.

Officials from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) told the publication that Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) approvals for the signalling systems are pending. This certification is held up due to glitches found in the software datasets during a review by Siemens India Ltd, the Yellow Line’s signalling contractor.

"Train movements are controlled entirely by software. Even a minor error defaults the system to a safe mode,” a senior BMRCL official was quoted as saying by the publication. The official added that while BMRCL completed all statutory tests, the ISA approval is crucial before the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) can inspect the line, and "Unless all tests are cleared for safety, Siemens cannot approach the independent assessor." Siemens has reportedly assured that the corrected datasets will be ready by the end of June.

'Made in China' driverless train for Bengaluru Metro's Yellow Line arrives in Chennai

On Tuesday, the first-ever driverless train for Namma Metro arrived at the Chennai port from China, sparking hopes for the long-delayed Yellow Line, the Deccan Herald reported.

The six-coach prototype trainset will be used for trial runs on the 19.15-km Yellow Line, which connects RV Road with Bommasandra via Jayadeva Hospital, Silk Board Junction, and Electronics City. China's state-owned CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd manufactured the train, having secured a Rs 1,578-crore contract in 2019 to supply 216 coaches to the BMRCL.

The prototype train will undergo customs clearance, estimated to take up to five days. Following this, its six coaches will be transported to Bengaluru by road on as many trailers, a process expected to take another three to four days, a source told the publication, while another confirmed that the train would reach Bengaluru by February 20.