India to expand metro rail transit systems in 100 cities by 2047

Lucknow, India (Urban Transport News): The Uttar Pradesh Government on October 7, 2021 concluded a three-day event titeled "New Urban India Conclave 2021" at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow. The event was started on October 5, 2021 where heads of various metro rail organisations, smart cities projects and officials form the nodal ministries were joined. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joined the concolave and visited various stalls showcased by particiant organisations.

Addressing the conclave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Metro is a great example of the holistic approach with which work is being done on both the problem of traffic and the challenge of pollution. Today metro service is expanding rapidly across the country. In 2014 less than 250 Kms of Metro train was operational for public, whereas today more than 750 kms of Metro is operational all over India. Apart from this Metro is being constructed on more than 1,050 Kms and in UP it is being constructed in 6 cities."

While addressing the seminar on ‘Status of Metro Rail on 100 Years of India’s Independence’, Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, said:

“No one In India believed that Metro services would be such a big success . Our history of the Metro is only 25-years-old but today, under the ‘Make in India policy, our indigenously made Metro coaches are being exported to Canada and Australia. Revolutionary changes have taken place in the field of public transport. Metro has played an important role in making urban transport safe, convenient, fast and accessible.”

“Metro is the need of urban transport and after 25 years from today, when 100 years of independence will be completed, then Metro will have achieved expansion in at least 100 cities of the country, extending the network up to 5,000 kms," Mishra added.

“Today Metro has more than 750 km network and by 2022, 150 kms of additional Metro network will be added. With a strong emphasis on Make in India policy, the indigenously made Metro coaches are being exported to Canada and Australia. Our goal is: when we celebrate hundred years of Independence, we should not only be self-reliant in every aspect related to Metro construction, but also be able to meet the needs of other countries,” he added.

Kumar Keshav, Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (UPMRC) gave a presentation on the rapid expansion of Metro Rail Projects in Uttar Pradesh. He said that after the expansion of 23 km of Lucknow, a trial run of Metro was proposed in Kanpur in November, while fast construction was going on in Agra. Metrolite project in Gorakhpur had already been approved by the state government and sent to the central government for approval. There was a plan to construct an operational metro route of 28 kilometres.

“Considering the traffic analytics and growing congestion in Lucknow, a techno feasibility study of six other Metro routes was conducted, according to which 114 kms of routes have been identified in the city,” Keshav said.

He said that according to the Metro Policy 2017, a Metro project could be brought in the cities with a population of more than 10 lakh and there were 12 such cities in the state. DPRs for Meerut, Prayagraj and Varanasi had been prepared while proposals for cities like Jhansi, Ayodhya and Saharanpur were under consideration.

Speaking at the panel discussion on ‘India’s Metro Rail System: At 100 years of Independence’, during the ‘New Urban India Conclave’ at Lucknow, Vinay Kumar Singh, Managing Director of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), elaborated on the importance of future-ready, sustainable ‘network of networks’.
                                
While sharing his valuable insights through an engaging presentation, Singh showcased that how India is witnessing a rapid urbanisation along with mega-regions developing as the growth engines of the economy. To facilitate such pace of economic activity, there is need to focus on sustainable mobility systems having future-ready technologies, among which high-speed rail-based regional commuter system will act as the backbone of these network of networks.