Bengaluru: In an attempt to boost the metro connectivity between Bengaluru and Tumakuru, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has invited open bids for a feasibility study for Bengaluru metro extension. The study will focus on metro extension from northern Bengaluru’s Madavara to Tumakuru, covering a distance of 52.41 km. The study will be undertaken under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The tender document can be downloaded from March 1 onwards, and the last date to submit the bids is April 2. The bids will be opened on the same day. Earlier, during the budget session, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced the Metro lines to Tumakuru and Devanahalli.

According to sources, bids for a feasibility study to extend the metro from the Kempegowda International Airport to Devanahalli are expected to be invited soon.

The BMRCL recently invited bids for a feasibility study to add 118 km length to the metro network. 

Initially it was planned to extend the Namma Metro’s Green Line from Madavara (Bangalore International Exhibition Centre) to Kunigal Cross, covering a distance of 11 km, but after the keen interest of state Home Minister G Parameshwara to take the metro to his home district of Tumakuru, the plan was conceived.

Sources said the feasibility reports are expected to be ready in three to four months. Following which, the government would decide the next course of action.  

The reports would also include the estimated project costs, traffic survey, alignment of the metro lines, properties needed to be acquired, potential hurdles in land acquisition and so on.  

The government will decide on approving or rejecting the project based on the feasibility study. If the project gets approved, the BMRCL will go for a Detailed Project Report (DPR).

Considering the distance between the two cities, the authority may go for a semi-high-speed railway line on the lines of Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). This would mean the metro stations would be built at a distance of 5-10 km to reduce travel time.