Metro Rail

Urban metro rail expanded dramatically after 2014 — from about 248 km across five cities to over 1,000 km in more than 20 cities by 2025. What began as a handful of systems, led by the Delhi Metro, became one of the fastest metro-building programmes in the world, extending into cities like Pune, Nagpur, Kanpur and Kochi.

Landmark lines mark the era. Kolkata's East-West Metro runs India's first under-river tunnel beneath the Hooghly, while the Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit (Delhi–Meerut) introduced India's first semi-high-speed regional rail. Most rolling stock is now built in India under 'Make in India', and cities from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru have opened major new corridors.

Metros are usually built and run by a special-purpose company jointly owned by the central and state governments (like DMRC in Delhi), which keeps each project focused and professionally managed. Lines are planned around expected ridership and funded through a mix of government equity, cheap long-term loans (often Japanese JICA finance) and property development around stations. Fares alone rarely cover costs, so the model leans on transit-oriented development — dense housing and offices clustered near stations.

Metro networks continue to grow across tier-1 and tier-2 cities, with new lines under construction in most major metros and the Namo Bharat RRTS expanding to more corridors around Delhi. The focus is shifting toward integrated urban mobility — linking metro, suburban rail, buses and last-mile services under common ticketing.

The next step is helping the newer systems pay their way — lifting ridership toward projections and pairing each line with dense, transit-oriented development around stations.

248 → 1,013 km operational metro (2014→2025). 5 → 20+ cities with metro. India's first under-river metro (Kolkata) and semi-high-speed RRTS (Namo Bharat). Sources: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, PIB.