Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal today highlighted the transformative developments in the country’s Metro Rail network over the past decade.

Addressing the media, the Minister noted that prior to 2014, the Metro Rail system in the country was limited to just 248 kilometres and operational in only 5 cities. Over the last ten years, 700 kilometers of new Metro lines have been made operational, bringing the total operational length to 945 kilometres and extending Metro services to 21 cities across the country.

The Union Minister also spoke about the recent approval of three major Metro Rail projects by the Union Cabinet, which are the Bangalore Metro Project, Thane Metro Project, and Pune Metro Project. He added that with the approval of these new projects, India now has over one thousand kilometres of metro lines under construction. The Minister mentioned that India currently ranks third globally in terms of operational Metro network length, following China and the USA.

In addition to domestic achievements, the Minister spoke of the growing international interest in India’s expertise in metro rail systems. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is currently implementing a metro rail system in Bangladesh and has provided consultancy services in Jakarta. The Minister informed us that countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and El Salvador have also shown interest in partnering with DMRC for their Metro development projects.

Regarding the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS), Mr. Manohar Lal provided updates on the Delhi-Meerut corridor. He said today, 34 kilometres of this corridor are operational, with the ‘NaMo Bharat’ train running on this network, and the project is expected to be fully completed by June 2025.