Exclusive: 1,700 km metro rail in 25 cities by 2025, minister says

Indian cities have become hubs of economic productivity, infrastructure, culture and diversity. They have become the key drivers of economic growth and there is a need to sustainably and inclusively expand them. Given that cities are witnessing an exponential increase in the use of personal motor vehicles, resulting in severe traffic congestion and pollution. Speaking on Monday, February 22, at “Metro Vision”, the first in the webinar series Infra-Nirbhar, organised jointly by Construction World and Swarajya magazines, Puri said, “Efforts need to be put in to remedy this situation. There is a need to focus on improving our public transport system including the metro rail system in the most efficient and sustainable ways,” observes Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs of India. Puri highlights that till 2014 only about 248 km of the Metro network was operational in five cities. With a consistent push by the government, the metro network has expanded by more than 469 km, and a total of 717 km Metro is operational in 18 cities today and we envision developing the metro system in 50 cities in the years to come. The interaction with Hardeep Singh Puri includes details of the metro sector in India, the two new systems, Metro Lite and Metro Neo, status of implementation of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority and Make in India incentives for the metro sector. Click here for full Q&A. Click here for video and full coverage.