New Delhi: One crore passengers are riding metro systems per day in India, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.
He said this in his address at the 16th Urban Mobility India Conference and Exhibition being hosted here by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) from October 27-29.
At present, the operational length of metro systems in India is 895 km in about 20 cities, and it is set to grow towards becoming the world’s second largest metro network in the next few years, Puri said.
Puri in his address also said one crore passengers are riding metro systems per day in India, and added that he felt the number may grow in future.
Later, Puri and MoHUA Secretary Manoj Joshi interacted with mediapersons on the sidelines of the event.
Asked about the metro lines under construction, Puri said, about 965 km of it is under construction and once completed, will take the number of cities having a metro system to 27 from about 20 today.
India currently stands at number three in terms of metro network span, after China and the US in that order, and in a few years as the network grows, the country is poised to rise to number two in the reckoning, a senior official in the MoHUA told PTI.
Asked about his comments during the conference that one crore passengers are riding metro systems per day in India, and whether the number can grow given many challenges that exist in the sector, the Union minister said, “Metro ridership has to go up for a simple reason that a commuter sees a metro as as an efficient, affordable means of getting from one point to another, from place of residence to place work, etc.”
He cited the Delhi Metro network across the National Capital Region (NCR) which now has a ridership of about 70 lakh.
Delhi Metro’s network spans 393 kilometres with 288 stations, including the Noida-Greater Noida corridor and the Rapid Metro in Gurugram.
Bangalore Metro and other metro ridership are also going up, as many want to avoid congestion, Puri added.
He even cited the recently-inaugurated 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor and, said, “I have no doubt that people will prefer to take this 50-odd minutes ride, rather than spending three hours (on road), once it is fully operational”.
So, one needs a “gestation period” when once talks of viability of a mass rapid transit system, and when the metro grows to 27 cities, daily ridership could be “many times to what we have today”, he said, adding, behavioural change in shifting to a metro is in evidence.
“The Prime Minister inaugurated the priority corridor. My reading is that next segment will be available by January-February next year. And, total 82 km to Meerut will take perhaps a year or so, 2025, first or second quarter,” Puri told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
Representatives from various metro systems in India, transport undertakings, professionals and other international experts, including from Spain, are taking part in the event, Officer On Special Duty (Urban Transport), MoHUA, Jaideep said.
Joshi in his address during the opening session of the conference underlined the benefits that e-rickshaws have provided in enhancing last-mile connectivity but also led to crowding around metro stations.
Interacting with reporters, Puri, on the issue of last-mile connectivity said, “Till a government comes up with a policy on last-mile connectivity which is comprehensive with all stakeholders onboard, autonomous solutions will take place. And, this e-rickshaw is an autonomous solution, and it has served the purpose… We are looking at e-mobility and last-mile connectivity from the perspective of a large issue.”
“At the heart of all this is the element of affordability. You don’t want to replace an existing, functioning system, which is creating some issues, we have to sort that out. Ideal would be, green modes of transport. All this is a work in progress,” he added.
Joshi told mediapersons that presence of e-rickshaws presents a lot of challenges, and there are also “design challenges”.
“Probably, we need to design and standardise our safety aspects, also we need to redesign our stations so there is better accommodation of e-rickshaws. What e-rickshaws have demonstrated to us is that a shared ride at the last-mile is something which has worked. A shared ride could be as rudimentary as an e-rickshaw or a better mode. Shared ride across the country, how we can modify it, improve it, other than smaller buses providing last-mile connectivity,” he added.
In his address during the conference, Puri also cited the case of Calcutta Metro (now Kolkata Metro), India’s first metro rail system, work on which began in 1972 and after construction of its initial line, and successive extensions, the last 5-6 km were added in late 2022.
So, it took 50 years to build a part rail, part metro system of 45 km, but, it takes four years or so to build a metro in any city, from start, he said.
Reporters also queried on the status of other two proposed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors – Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat.
“As far as I know, one of those segments has gone to the Delhi government, to the government of the NCR, and I am told that it is under active consideration. It requires a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed between the central government and the Delhi government. I think that is also receiving attention. I personally believe, with all the efforts made by the central government, and hopefully the Delhi government will respond quickly, and it is my expectation that it will happen,” Puri said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 20 had inaugurated this section of India’s first RRTS corridor by unveiling a plaque at its Sahibabad station and had also took a ride in a ‘Namo Bharat’ train.
The entire 82.15 km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS is targeted to be operational by June 2025.
Asked if any multi-modal connectivity is being planned for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor with existing metro lines, MoHUA Secretary Joshi told reporters that wherever connectivity between metro and RRTS stations are possible, it is planned to provide connectivity.
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