Indicating rapid expansion of mass public transportation in cities, 548 km of the metro rail network has been built and operationalised in India since 2014.
Before 2014 (i.e. till December 2013), a total of about 229 km of the metro rail network was operational in the cities of Delhi NCR (194 km), Kolkata (28 km) and Bangalore (7 km).
This information was given by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
“Urban transport, which is an integral part of urban development, is a state subject. Hence, respective State and Union Territory (UT) Governments are responsible for initiating, developing and funding urban transport infrastructure including metro rail projects,” the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said.
“As per Metro Rail Policy, 2017, the Central Government considers financial assistance for metro rail proposals in cities or urban agglomerates based on the feasibility of the proposal and availability of resources, as and when posed by the concerned State or Union Territory (UT) Government,” it added.
The metro rail projects operationalised since 2014 include 160 km long Delhi Metro Phase III and its extensions, 49 km of Bangalore Metro Phase I and II, 54 km long Chennai Metro Phase I and its extension, 69 km of Hyderabad Metro and 30 km long Noida Metro.
Some major metro rail projects under construction with financial assistance from the centre include 119 km long Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase II to be built with Rs 63,246 crore and 65 km long Delhi Metro Phase IV (three priority corridors) to be made with Rs 24,948 crore.