They say a true growth story is best reflected in numbers. Consider this: India’s metro-rail story started at 8 km in 2002. Today, the country has achieved close to 600 km. And going forward, roughly another 600 km of sanctioned metro lines are under construction with 1,000-1,500 km of metro-line proposals under planning.Indeed, India’s metro rail network has grown rapidly to figure among the top 10 largest metro networks in the world. At present, Delhi Metro is the eighth largest metro train network in the world. Recently, the Delhi Government cleared the 103.93-km, six-corridor Delhi Metro Phase IV; once this is completed, Delhi Metro is expected to become the third largest metro network in the world. With a total length of about 453.58 km, it will overtake New York (380.2 km), Nanjing in China (378 km), Seoul (340.4 km), Moscow (381 km), Guangzhou (391.8 km) and London (402 km). Shanghai and Beijing are first and second, with a total length of 644 km and 599.44 km, respectively. The revolutionEvidently, India is going through a metro revolution today. With 600 route km being used by over 5 million commuters today, over 15 cities in India are under various stages of adding an additional 1,500 route km in the near future.That said, not all projects have been able to achieve timely completion within estimated costs. “The financial rate of return will be low (from +3 to negative) but the economic rate of return will be anything from 15 to 20 per cent,” says Dr E Sreedharan, Principal Advisor, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). “This means the metro is not an attractive area for an investor but it is a social need in which the government should invest.” For his part, Mohammad Athar, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, says, “Like most major urban transit developments, the presence of a metro corridor has induced transformations in land use in connected areas. Commercial establishments and office areas place a high premium on better connectivity and have thus benefited from the presence of the metro. Metro-rail systems are also increasingly viewed as a more environment-friendly mode of transport and have led to improvement in air quality.”In India, metro rail has emerged as a preferential transport alternative in Tier-I cities faced with growing population, high traffic and increased pollution, according to Ashwini Bhide, Managing Director, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation. “With the remarkable success of Delhi Metro, many states including Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have rapidly implemented metro-rail projects,” she says. And Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, points out, “Metro rail is non-polluting and carries a large number of people without restricting or occupying road space. Therefore, it is a potent answer to the congested roads of our urban centres.”SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN City-wise distribution of approved metro projects Project Length - km Approved Cost - Rs billion Delhi* 411 1,100.25 Noida 29 55.03 Gurugram 11 36.35 Mumbai 197 820.78 Navi Mumbai 11 30.64 Kolkata 135 213.90 Bengaluru 114 402.50 Hyderabad 72 141.32 Chennai 54 183.70 Pune 54 175.44 Nagpur 38 86.80 Ahmedabad 36 107.73 Indore 32 75.01 Patna 31 133.66 Bhopal 28 69.41 Kochi 26 51.82 Lucknow 23 69.28 Jaipur 12 31.49 Surat* 40 120.20 Agra* 29 83.80 Kanpur* 32 110.76  - Source: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA)- *Delhi Metro Phase 4, Agra, Kanpur, and Surat Metro were approved recently (Feb/March-2019) Metro-rail projects in DPR/approval stage City Estimated Cost- Rs billion Delhi Metro Phase 4 and Extension 644.63 Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Meerut, Agra, Kanpur) 631.32 Guwahati 180.20 Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada) 165.59 Chandigarh 139.09 Mumbai – Line 2A, Line 7 118.02 Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Kochi) 89.68 Others 24 Source: ICRA research, MoUD, metro websites Status of operational / under implementation Metro Rail Projects in India City Length – km Approved Cost- Rs. crore Status Delhi / NCR 379 90580 Major part is Operational Mumbai 208 85142 Partly Operational Kolkata 135 21390 Operational Bengaluru 114 40250 Phase 1 Operational Hyderabad 72 14132 Partly Operational Chennai 54 18370 Partly Operational Pune 54 17544 Under implementation Surat 40 12020 Recently approved Nagpur 38 8680 Under implementation Ahmedabad 36 10773 Under implementation Indore 32 7501 Recently approved Kanpur 32 11076 Recently approved Patna 31 13366 Recently approved Agra 29 8380 Recently approved Bhopal 28 6941 Recently approved Kochi 26 5182 Partly Operational Lucknow 23 6928 Partly Operational Jaipur 12 3149 Partly Operational Gurgaon 11 3635 Operational Total 1354 385039 Source: ICRA research, MoUD, Metro websites