Bengaluru Metro Pink Line Faces Delay as BEML Struggles to Deliver Trains

The 7.5-km elevated part of Bengaluru’s new Pink Line is ready, but trial runs have not started because there are not enough trains.

The trains are being made by BEML, a Bengaluru-based public sector company. BEML was supposed to deliver a prototype train in June 2025, but it has not done so yet. The company is facing a shortage of key parts and has not started important safety tests because suitable testing facilities are not available in India.

BEML now says the prototype will be ready in December 2025, but officials believe testing could take up to six more months, which may delay the opening of the Kalena Agrahara–Tavarekere section until after May 2026.

This situation is similar to the Yellow Line, which also opened nearly two years late due to train supply problems.

Bengaluru Metro (BMRCL) will need six to eight trains to open the new line, but only two are currently being built at BEML’s plant.

BEML received a ₹3,177 crore contract in August 2023 to supply 53 six-coach driverless trains — 37 for the Blue Line and 16 for the Pink Line. In March 2025, the company also got an additional order for seven more Pink Line trains worth ₹405 crore.

BMRCL plans to open the Pink Line in two stages:

The elevated section in May 2026, and

The underground section (Dairy Circle to Nagavara) in December 2026.

But train delivery delays may affect these plans.

Officials say the prototype’s delay is mainly due to missing equipment like gearbox assemblies, motor wheel sets, and doors. Tests like bogie fatigue, crash, and carbody squeeze tests have also been delayed because India lacks the proper testing facilities.

Each of these tests takes months — for example, the bogie fatigue test alone takes about three months to complete.

As of now, it seems unlikely that BEML will deliver even eight trains in the next five months.

BEML has not commented on the issue.

With inputs from Deccan Herald