The urban transportation sector has made notable progress in recent years, with metro rail and regional rapid transit systems (RRTSs) experiencing significant network expansion. This growth has been driven by government support, robust funding and the integration of technology, which have transformed urban mobility and facilitated enhanced and sustainable connectivity within cities.
Indian Infrastructure takes a look at some of the key developments in the urban transportation sector in the past year…
Budget allocation and funding
- Metro rail and mass rapid transit system projects received an allocation of Rs 348.07 billion in Union Budget 2025-26, including allocations for metro projects and the National Capital Region Transport Corporation as well as grants for metro rail projects.
- In June 2025, the Asian Development Bank announced a five-year initiative, wherein funds up to $10 billion, including third-party capital, would be directed towards urban transformation, encompassing metro extensions, new RRTS corridors and urban infrastructure and services.
- In December 2024, KfW Germany signed an agreement with the Indian government worth Rs 30.45 billion (Euro 340 million) for the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase II.
- In March 2025, the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed an official development assistance loan agreement worth around Rs 46.49 billion for various corridors under the Delhi Metro Project Phase IV.
Metro rail network expansion
Inaugurations
- The past year witnessed the inauguration of key metro segments across states. These include the underground section of the Pune Metro connecting District Court to Swargate and two stretches under Ahmedabad Metro Phase II in September 2024; the Aarey-Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) stretch of Line 3 of Mumbai Metro Phase I in October 2024; the 3.14 km extension of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Green Line from Nagasandra to Madavara in November 2024; and the 2.8 km Janakpuri West-Krishna Park Extension stretch of the Janakpuri West-RK Ashram corridor of Delhi Metro Phase IV in January 2025.
- The 9.6 km BKC-Acharya Atre Chowk stretch of Line 3 of Mumbai Metro Phase I; the 6 km priority corridor (Gandhinagar-Station 3-Super Corridor) under Indore Metro Phase I; and the Motijheel-Kanpur Central stretch under Kanpur Metro Phase I were inaugurated in May 2025. Moreover, various stretches of the Kolkata Metro network and the Yellow Line of the Bengaluru Metro Project Phase II were inaugurated in August 2025.
Upcoming projects
- The metro rail network is expected to see further expansion in the coming years through ongoing projects and plans for future lines. Foundation stones were laid for the Rithala-Narela-Kundli corridor of Delhi Metro Project Phase IV and the Swargate-Katraj extension of Pune Metro Phase I.
- Approvals were received for new metro projects and expansions. The centre approved the extension of the Aqua Line of the Noida Metro Project Extension to the multimodal transport hub; Corridors 2A and 2B under the Pune Metro Project; the Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase II; the Thane Integral Ring Metro Rail Project; and two corridors of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase III.
- State approvals were also received for the Noida Sector 51-Knowledge Park V Metro Project, the Raipur-Durg Metro Project, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project Phase IIB and various other projects and extensions.
- The Public Investment Board approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project (East-West Corridor) in May 2025, followed by an approval from the centre in August 2025.
RRTS and water metro
- Emerging modes of transport such as the RRTS, MetroLite, MetroNeo and water metro are gaining traction. The 13 km Sahibabad-New Ashok Nagar stretch under the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Project was inaugurated in January 2025. In August 2025, commercial operations commenced on the 8 km Modi Nagar (north)-Meerut (south) stretch.
- In the water metro segment, operations commenced on the Eloor-High Court Junction stretch under the Kochi Water Metro Project in April 2025, and the Karnataka government approved the Mangaluru Water Metro Project. Further, Kochi Metro Rail Limited submitted the feasibility study for the Mumbai Water Metro Project.
Rolling stock
The first Namo Bharat rapid rail service was launched in September 2024, connecting Bhuj and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Services were also launched on the route between Patna and Jaynagar in Bihar in April 2025.
Driverless trains are making headway. All trains running on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro now feature driverless operations. Further, the Bengaluru Metro Project received its first entirely made-in-India driverless trainset from Titagarh Rail Systems Limited, rolled out on the Yellow Line of the project.
