Prime Minister Modi cut the ribbon on Bangalore Metro’s new Yellow Line this week, a 19-kilometer stretch with 16 stations that’s desperately needed in India’s third-largest city. Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank put up €340 million for the project. Bangalore has grown like crazy – from 10 million people in 2015 to over 14 million today. That’s left the roads completely jammed, with people spending hours every day stuck in traffic.
The city was drowning in cars and pollution. Air quality breaks WHO safety limits regularly, and the endless traffic jams hurt everyone’s health and the economy. The metro gives people a way out of that mess.
This wasn’t just a German project. France’s development agency, the European Investment Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Japan’s aid agency all chipped in money. German and European companies built the trains and all the high-tech safety systems that keep things running smoothly. The local Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation operates everything, connecting office towers, tech campuses, neighborhoods, and poorer areas that really needed better transport links.
Phase 2 isn’t done yet – another section opens next year. The full expansion adds 75 kilometers of track and 61 new stations placed where people actually need them. Officials think 1.3 million passengers will ride these new lines every day. Plus it’ll connect better with buses and other trains.
The pollution cuts are massive – 1.4 million tons less CO₂ each year. For a city where the air makes people sick, that’s life-changing. Residents are already embracing their new transport option.
