The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) has received safety clearance from the Commissioner for Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) for the elevated section of the Pink Line between Kalena Agrahara and Tavarekere. The clearance covers the 7.5-km first phase of the corridor, which is ready for public operations once an inauguration date is approved by the Government of India.

Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda confirmed the clearance on Wednesday. Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a date for the launch, with an official response awaited.

The first phase includes six stations, beginning at Kalena Agrahara and passing through Hulimavu, IIM-B and JP Nagar 4th Phase before reaching Jayadeva Hospital and Tavarekere. Jayadeva Hospital station will provide an interchange with the Yellow Line, improving connections between the southern corridor and other parts of the network.

The complete 21.25-km Pink Line will connect Kalena Agrahara with Nagawara. It will comprise the 7.5-km elevated section and a 13.76-km underground corridor, with 18 stations serving locations such as MG Road, Pottery Town, IIM Bangalore, JP Nagar 4th Phase and Hulimavu.

Before the CMRS inspection earlier this month, BMRCL secured an Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) certificate for the line’s signalling systems. Once the elevated section enters service, the active Namma Metro network will exceed 100 km, compared with its current 96 km across the Purple, Green and Yellow lines. Average weekday ridership is 916,000, including 466,000 commuters on the Purple Line, and total daily usage is projected to cross 1 mn after the Pink Line begins operations.