Setback for south India’s first inter-state Metro dream

The ambitious plan to build South India’s first inter-state metro line connecting Bengaluru and Hosur has hit a major technical roadblock. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has clarified that the project is not technically feasible in its current form, raising the likelihood of the proposal being shelved. The Union government had directed BMRCL to prepare an expansion plan to extend the Bengaluru Metro network to 470 km. As part of this plan, BMRCL conducted a feasibility study for the Hosur–Bommasandra corridor. The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), which also studied the project, had proposed a 23-km stretch powered by a 25 kV AC overhead electrical system. However, since the Bengaluru Metro operates on a 750 V DC power system, integrating the two distinct electrical systems is technically incompatible, BMRCL informed the Karnataka government — posing a significant barrier to project implementation.

Meanwhile, BMRCL carried out its own feasibility study for a shorter 11-km extension from Bommasandra to Attibele, within Karnataka, designed to use the same 750 V DC system as the existing network.

In parallel, several other metro extensions are progressing: the Blue Line from Doddanekundi to Devanahalli, the Purple Line from K.R. Puram to Hoskote, the Silver Line from Kadugodi to Tavarekere, and a new 68-km corridor from Kalena Agrahara via Bannerghatta, Jigani, Attibele, Sarjapur, Dommasandra, and Varthur Kodi to Kadugodi Tea Park.