Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in his budget speech on Friday that the State government would take steps to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for Namma Metro Phase III which will have a 105.55-km network. The alignment of the proposed network includes lines from J.P. Nagar to K.R. Puram via Hebbal; Toll gate to Kadabagere; Gottigere to Basavapura; R.K. Hegde Nagar to Aerospace Park; Kogilu Cross to Rajanakunte; Bommasandra to Attibele, and Iblur to Carmelaram. With this, the total length of the metro network including all the phases will be 266 km.
There is no new allocation for the suburban rail project. The Chief Minister pointed out that last year his government had provided ₹280 crore, which accounted for 80% of the plan expenditure to convert conventional coaches into MEMU trains. “We have decided to start the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for Bengaluru suburban rail project jointly with the Railways. To implement phase I at a planned expenditure of ₹1,745 crore, we have sanctioned ₹349 crore towards the SPV equity,” the Chief Minister said in his budget speech.
