The Karnataka government has allocated ₹500 crore in the State Budget for the long-delayed Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Friday. The allocation comes in addition to the ₹500 crore announced by the Union government in the Union Budget 2026-27 earlier this year, officials from Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (KRIDE) said.

In his Budget speech, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that land acquisition for Corridor-2, connecting Benniganahalli and Chikkabanavara, has already been completed and construction works were currently under way. He set a deadline of December 2030.

Speaking to The Hindu, a KRIDE official said, “Since the project is a 50:50 joint venture between the State and the Centre, the State government has now allocated ₹500 crore in the Budget, while the Union government had announced ₹500 crore in the Union Budget presented in February 2026.”

However, activists said the allocation was insufficient to accelerate the delayed suburban rail project. Rajkumar Dugar, founder of the citizens’ group Citizens for Citizens (C4C), said that the State government’s allocation did not reflect strong commitment to the project. “Just ₹500 crore at this stage does not show great interest from the State government. The Chief Minister has not spoken about Corridor-1, which is the most important corridor and has been ignored,” he told The Hindu.

The Corridor-1, also known as the Sampige Line, is a 41.4-km stretch connecting KSR Bengaluru City to Devanahalli via Yelahanka and includes 15 stations. According to Mr. Dugar, the corridor was crucial for Bengaluru’s connectivity, and it was an important stretch that connects airport and should be prioritised.

41-km metro expansion promised by 2026 despite slow project progress

Mr. Siddaramaiah announced that Bengaluru’s metro network was expected to expand by 41 km by the end of 2026, despite the relatively slow progress of ongoing construction works on the upcoming Pink and Blue lines of Namma Metro.

The proposed expansion includes the Pink Line corridor between Kalena Agrahara and Tavarekere (21.26 km) and the Blue Line stretch from Silk Board Junction to K.R. Pura (19.75 km).

Officials from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said the Pink Line was expected to open in phases. A 7.5-km elevated stretch was likely to be operational by May 2026, while the entire underground corridor was expected to be completed by December 2026.

According to the BMRCL officials, for the Blue Line, the K.R. Pura-Silk Board Junction section (19.75 km) was projected to open by December 2026. The remaining sections would follow in phases, with the Hebbal-Airport stretch (27.44 km) likely to open by June 2027, and the K.R. Pura-Hebbal section (11 km) by December 2027.