Syllabus: Urbanization- their problems and their remedies
Network Growth Overview
- India’s metro network grew from 248 km across 5 cities (2014) to over 1,000 km across 23 cities (2025).
- India now has world’s third largest metro train network after China and USA according to PIB.
City-wise Network Coverage
- Delhi leads with 394 km metro network, largest in India followed by other major cities.
- Bengaluru: 96 km, Mumbai: 80.2 km, Kolkata: 74 km networks operating currently nationwide.
- Newer, smaller networks in Nagpur, Lucknow, Pune expanding at brisk pace rapidly.
Ridership Growth
- Average daily ridership quadrupled: from 28 lakh (2014) to 1.12 crore (2025) passengers.
- Delhi metro carries ~65 lakh passengers each weekday; highest ridership among Indian metros.
- Bengaluru handles ~10 lakh, Mumbai ~8.5 lakh daily commuters using metro services.
- Kolkata carries over 6 lakh daily; launched India’s first underwater metro tunnel (2024).
- Emerging Metro Systems
- Hyderabad: 4.7 lakh, Chennai: 3.19 lakh, Pune: 2.18 lakh passengers daily showing steady growth.
- Smaller metros like Lucknow, Nagpur, Jaipur record between 0.5 to 1.5 lakh commuters daily.
- Fare Structure
- Minimum base fare generally ₹10 across most metro systems in India uniformly.
- Many metros charge per km basis: Chennai ₹2.14/km, Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar ₹1.2/km rates applicable.
- Fare caps for longer distances: Bengaluru metro caps at ₹90 for journeys 30 km or more.