Commuters in Indian cities are increasingly opting for urban mass transit (UMT) systems as a preferred mode of transportation. In view of the increased demand, a number of cities have planned greenfield metro rail projects. Besides, cities that already have operational metro rail systems have planned expansions on the back of increasing demand.
The current operational network of urban rail systems in India stands at about 698.5 km. Besides, 71 projects involving the development of 141 stretches are at various stages of implementation in Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities. Spanning over 2,570 km, these projects will entail an investment of at least Rs 6 trillion. This represents a huge pipeline of projects, which if implemented in the planned manner, will significantly ease traffic congestion on city roads.
A look at the key upcoming projects in the metro rail segment…
Key ongoing projects
The metro rail network in the country is constantly expanding. While a number of projects have been completed and have added to the existing network, a gamut of other projects are currently under construction. According to India Infrastructure Research, as of March 2020, 40 stretches entailing an investment of Rs 2,205 billion are presently under construction. Spanning a length of over 624 km, these stretches involve the development of 498 stations.
State-wise, Maharashtra has the maximum metro length under construction at 221 km. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is developing Line 2A (Dahisar-D.N. Nagar), Line 2B (D.N. Nagar-Mandale), Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ), Line 4 (Wadala-Kasarvadavali), Line 4A (Kasarvadavali-Gaimukh), Line 5 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan), Line 7 (Andheri East-Dahisar East) and Line 9 (Dahisar East-Mira Bhayander) of the Mumbai metro rail project. In addition, another stretch of the Mumbai metro project which is under implementation, Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli), is being developed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). All the stretches are being implemented on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis. Upon completion, the projects will add a total of 164.97 km to the metro network. Estimated to cost around Rs 754 billion, these stretches are scheduled for completion between 2020 and 2024.
Another big-ticket project under implementation is the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional rapid transit system. Aimed at decongesting the national capital’s transit system, the project is expected to be a game changer for the National Capital Region. It is being implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation. Of the eight corridors identified for development, three corridors spanning a length of 350 km have been taken up on a priority basis – Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat.
Some of the other metro projects that are currently under implementation are Corridor 1 (PimpriChinchwadMuncipal Corporation-Swargate) of the Pune metro (16.59 km, Rs 114.2 billion), North-South Corridor (Agriculture Produce Market Committee-Motera Stadium) of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro, Phase I (18.87 km, Rs 125 billion), Corridor 1 (IIT Kanpur-Naubasta) of the Kanpur metro, Phase I (23.78 km, Rs 110.76 billion) and Gottigere-IIM Bengaluru-Nagawara (Reach 6) of the Bengaluru metro, Phase II (21.25 km, Rs 110.14 billion).
Key awarded projects
The contracts for six metro rail stretches entailing an investment of Rs 175 billion currently stand awarded. Once completed, these stretches will add 51 km of rail length – 49 km elevated and 2 km underground.
One of the big-ticket projects that has been awarded is the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station-Falaknuma stretch of the Hyderabad metro rail project, Phase I, Corridor II. The project is being implemented on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis at a cost of Rs 210 billion. The total length of the metro stretch to be constructed is 6.59 km.
The other big-ticket projects that have been awarded include the Balewadi-Shivajinagar and Hinjewadi-Balewadi stretches of the Pune metro rail project, Corridor 3. The two stretches are estimated to entail a cumulative investment of Rs 83.13 billion. They will be implemented on a PPP basis and are scheduled to be completed by January 2023 and January 2021 respectively. The 23.33 km long stretches will have a total of 23 stations, all of which will be elevated. Besides, the Maujpur-Majlis Park stretch and the Domestic airport-Tughlakabad stretch (elevated portion) of the Delhi metro, Phase IV, are scheduled to be completed by 2024. The two stretches are being implemented by the DMRC on an EPC basis.
Under-bidding projects
As of March 2020, projects spanning a route length of 140.49 km are at the bidding stage. One such project is the 5.42 km long Corridor II (Gujarat National Law University-GIFT City) of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro rail project, Phase II, to be developed on a PPP basis. The project was approved by the Gujarat government in February 2019. Following this, the foundation stone for the project was laid by the central government in March 2019. Another stretch of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar project, Phase II, which is currently under bidding is the 22.84 km Motera-Mahatma Mandir stretch. The stretch will have a total of 24 stations and will be implemented on an EPC basis.
Other under-bidding projects include Corridor 3 (Madhavaram Milk Colony-SIPCOT) and Corridor 5 (Madhavaram Milk Colony-Sholinganallur) of the Chennai metro, Phase II, and the K.R. Puram-Silk Board corridor of the Bengaluru metro, Phase 2A. All the three stretches will be implemented on an EPC basis.
Approved and announced metro projects
At present, there are several metro rail projects at various stages of planning. In January 2020, the Maharashtra government approved the extension of the Pune metro’s Phase III corridor from Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar to LoniKalbhor on a PPP basis. The project was first mooted in 2015 when the DMRC was appointed as consultant for the Hinjewadi metro. The state cabinet has also approved the detailed project report (DPR) of the 5.5 km stretch between Swargate and Katraj to be executed on a PPP basis. This is an extension of the Pune metro’s underground section from Nigdi to Swargate. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has also approved the development of the 45 km Line 14 of the Mumbai metro (Kanjurmarg-Badlapur) on a PPP basis. The DPR for the project is presently being prepared.
One of the most capital-intensive projects that has been recently approved by the Jammu & Kashmir government is Phase I of the Srinagar light rail transit (LRT) project. The phase consists of two corridors from Indra Nagar to HMT Junction (12.5 km with 12 stations) and from HazuriBagh to Osmanabad (12.5 km with 12 stations). The LRT corridors will be completely elevated. The project will be financed by Japan under the Japan-India special official development assistance loan for metro and railway projects.
Future opportunities
India’s metro footprint is expanding at a steady pace. The urban rail network has increased significantly, up from 81 km in 2006 to about 700 km operational currently. The network has expanded from two cities in 2006 to 13 cities as of March 2020.
The current pipeline of projects in the urban rail sector spells significant opportunity for stakeholders across the board. Over 25 cities will have operational metro rail networks in the coming years. The sector has a promising outlook given the policy support, robust project pipeline and increasing emphasis on efficient modes of mass transport. However, the recent Covid-19 outbreak will certainly have a bearing on the pace of project execution, at least for the next three-six months. Labour migration, limited liquidity and a halt on Chinese imports will impact construction activities in the next few months.
The overall maturity of the sector hinges on a number of factors such as the creation of a unified metropolitan transport authority, integration of various transport modes, smart ticketing, etc. While countries such as Singapore and Japan have advanced subway and metro systems, India still has a long way to go. The country needs to fully exploit the sector’s potential and tap opportunities for stakeholders across the value chain. w
Analysis of urban mass transit projects in the pipeline (by type) (as of March 2020)