Full-fledged Metro only in 2032?

Bengaluru: If you thought fully operational Namma Metro network across the city was a distant dream, then it seems you are right! RailYatri.in, a Delhi-based startup, has predicted that all phases of Namma Metro will not be functional before 2032.

The company, analyzing the Metro’s progress over the last seven years, has said that the railway network will take another 16 years to complete.

Kapil Raizada, co-founder, RailYatri.in, said, “Considering phase-wise completed track length, Bengaluru’s Namma Metro is lagging well behind its Delhi counterparts – both the Delhi Metro, as well as the Delhi Airport Metro project.”

According to the report, Delhi Metro achieved 8.06 km/year in Phase 1. The pace increased to over 15 km/year, with the total of 193 km of Phases 1 & 2 being completed in 12.8 years. Delhi Metro aims to go even faster in Phase 3 currently under progress. In comparison, Namma Metro is still struggling to complete its 22.7 km of Phase 1, though it is in its eighth year.

“Apart from the slow progress, the other issue with Namma Metro performance appears to be that their ‘learning curve’ is relatively flat. Namma Metro’s pace over the entire Phase 1 averages around 2.5 km per year, a slight increase from its Reach 1 average of 1.5 km/ year,” he said.

Given Namma Metro’s track record, completing 42.3 km of Phase 2 will require another 16.7 years. Given that Phase 2 is scheduled to start only after the completion of Phase 1 in 2016, the end date works out to between 2032 and 2033.