India’s Metro Network Expansion Gains Momentum

India is on track to achieve another major milestone in the metro rail sector. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal said India could overtake the United States within the next two years to become the world’s second-largest metro rail network after China. He noted that metro services, once limited to a few cities, have now expanded to 26 cities across the country.

The minister recalled that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, India had metro rail networks spanning just 245 km across five cities. Today, metro services cover around 1,170 km across 26 cities, representing nearly a five-fold expansion in 12 years. With several new projects being completed and additional routes under construction expected to become operational, Manohar Lal said India could surpass the US in metro network length within the next two years.