The long-awaited Namma Metro line between Yelachenalli and Anjanapura in Bengaluru will be inaugurated by Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa at Konanakunte cross station on January 14, said Ajay Seth, Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL). Along with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh will take part in the ceremony scheduled at 4.30 pm, through video conferencing. Metro train services on the 6.29 km line between Yelanchelli and Anjanapura are likely to commence from January 15, a day after its inauguration.
The metro rail extension is the first project under Phase 2 of the Namma Metro Project in Bengaluru, which was commissioned after multiple delays. The Commissioner of Railway Safety had given clearance for the Yelanchelli- Anjanapura project two months ago while laying down several conditions.
At present, the metro has two lines —- the Purple Line between Baiyyappanahalli and Mysore Road which runs for 18.08 km and the Green Line between Nagasandra and Yelachenahalli which spans 24.22 km. The 6.29 km metro line between Yelanchelli and Anjanapura is an elevated extension of the existing Green Line of Namma Metro. The stretch constitutes five metro stations —- Konanakunte Cross, Doddakallasandra, Vajrahalli, Thalaghattapura and Anjanapura. This connects the far end of the southeastern part of the city to the northern tip.
Meanwhile, the BMRCL plans to commence metro train operations between Mysore Road-Kengeri in the Purple Line and Nagasandra-Bangalore International Exhibition Centre in the Green Line. To a question about possible requirements of additional trains for the new Yellanchelli-Anjanapura metro stretch and upcoming extensions, Seth told the Deccan Herald, “The train sets will be deployed as needed...More trains will be needed only when we commence Whitefield line."