Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Metro Rail services from Baiyappanahalli to Krishnarajapura, and Kengeri to Challaghatta legs of Bangalore Metro Purple Line will improve connectivity and benefit lakhs of commuters.

He was speaking after virtually dedicating to the nation the two stretches of east-west corridor of Bangalore Metro, from Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh, where he addressed a rally after inaugurating the 17-km priority section of the country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor.

The Baiyappanahalli to Krishnarajapura, and Kengeri to Challaghatta legs of the Bangalore Metro Purple Line were opened to the public from October 9 without waiting for a formal inauguration.

With this, the total operational length of ‘Namma Metro’ has increased to 74 km with 66 stations, and daily ridership to over 7.5 lakh.

Namma Metro, inaugurated 12 years ago, is the second largest Metro network in the country.

The east-west corridor — the Purple Line from Whitefield (Kadugodi) to Challaghatta — now spans a total length of 43.49 km comprising 37 stations.

During the speech, the prime minister also hinted at the possibility of launching the Metro Rail project in Mysuru.

“In Uttar Pradesh today, Metro Rail is arriving in Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra and Kanpur. In some places, Metro (train) is running or would run in the near future. In Karnataka too, be it Bengaluru or Mysuru, Metro services are expanded,” the prime minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state government has given approval to the 317 km long Metro Rail network by 2031 in its Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) of which the 217 km long route is in the operation, construction or planning stage.

Accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the chief minister said Bengaluru is a fast growing city and traffic is a big problem here. In view of this, expansion of Metro Rail services was very much needed.

Siddaramaiah said Phase-2 of the Bangalore Metro Rail project of length 75.06 km has been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 30,695 crore. At least 32 km of work has been completed and commissioned for operations, including the two stretches formally inaugurated on Friday.

Extensions of Metro services from Nagasandra to Madawara in the northern direction with a length of 3.14 km and from RV Road to Bommasandra comprising a 19.15 km new route are on the verge of completion. It will be dedicated to the public by April 2024, the chief minister said.

A 21.26 km new Metro line from Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara will be completed by March 2025. Once these routes are completed, the total Metro network will be extended to 117 km, benefiting 12 lakh people. The Karnataka government has already released Rs 11,583.08 crore for the Metro project, he said.

The 2A and 2B of the ORR-Airport Metro Rail Line with a length of 58 km from Central Silk Board junction through Hebbal junction is being built at a cost of Rs 14 ,788.10 crore, of which Rs 4,775.36 crore has been released, Siddaramaiah said adding, it will be ready by 2026.

After this line opens, the Metro Rail network will be 176 km and every day 20 lakh people are likely to travel, he said.

“With the growing demand, the Karnataka government has sent the DPR of the third phase of Bengaluru Metro Rail project, comprising a length of 45 km and which will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 15,611 crore, to the Centre for approval. We request the prime minister to approve it at the earliest,” the chief minister said.

This apart, the Sarjapur to Hebbal (37 km) Metro Rail project as part of Phase-3 DPR is being prepared, he added.