India likely to overtake US in metro rail network length within 2 years: Manohar Lal

India’s metro rail network is expected to surpass the US in length within two years, Union Minister Manohar Lal said. India’s network has reached 1,170 km across 26 cities after the Indore extension, compared with America’s 1,386 km network

Indore: India is likely to overtake the United States of America in terms of metro rail network length in the next two years, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal said on Saturday after inaugurating the extended route of the metro rail service in Indore.

“The US has a metro rail network of 1,386 km. With the extended Indore line, India’s metro rail network has reached 1,170 km,” he said noting the country’s network length was now just 216 kilometres less than the US. Speaking after inaugurating the extended Indore metro rail service, built at a cost of Rs 2,850 crore, he said China currently has around 8,000 km of metro rail lines.

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“I think in the next two years, we will overtake the US and become the world’s second-largest country in terms of metro rail network after China,” the Union minister said in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, metro rail services were operational on 245 km route across five cities, which has now expanded to 1,170 km across 26 cities, Lal pointed out.

Metro rail is not merely a mode of transport but also a means of improving people’s “ease of living”, and its expansion is linked to the goal of building ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047, Lal asserted. Speaking on the occasion, CM Yadav said the metro rail service was writing a new chapter in Indore’s development and that it would eventually be extended to Ujjain and other nearby areas.

He also thanked Prime Minister Modi for approving the Rs 18,500-crore Indore-Manmad railway line, saying it would significantly improve rail connectivity between Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Officials said Indore metro rail, which was earlier operating commercially on a six-km stretch between Gandhi Nagar and Super Corridor-3 stations, would now run on a 17-km route between Gandhi Nagar and Malviya Nagar Chauraha.

The first trains on the extended route will depart from both ends at 9 am daily, while the last service will run at 7 pm. Trains will be available every 15 minutes, with more than 80 trips scheduled daily, they said. The extended service will cover 16 stations, providing improved connectivity between major commercial and residential areas of the city, officials said.