From the first tracks laid in the early 2000s in the expanding suburbs of Delhi to the present-day modern technology-equipped network spread across 24 cities, India's metro system has made great strides, traversing both miles and milestones.

According to Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu, India currently has the world’s third-largest metro network after China and the US. The average daily ridership on metro systems has reached about 12.2 million passengers. The pace of launching new metro lines has also increased from 0.68 kilometres per month (2014) to six kilometres per month (2025).

Metro Rail Policy 2017

The Metro Rail Policy 2017 facilitated the rapid expansion of the metro network across the country by emphasising a structured, integrated framework through which the Central government supported the respective state governments in improving the private-sector-driven urban transport systems. 

According to the Metro Rail Policy 2017, cities need to have Comprehensive Mobility Plans (CMPs) and Urban Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTAs). As per recent presentations by the Ministry of Urban Affairs, metro services are currently available in 18 cities. New expansion phases have begun in Nagpur, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, while construction is underway in six cities. There are plans to expand the metro networks to a total of 50 cities. 

Green Urban Transport

As part of a bid to promote sustainable urban transport, India’s metro systems have been moving towards green energy solutions through initiatives such as the vertical bi-facial solar plant at Okhla Vihar, the one-megawatt rooftop solar plant at the depot near Khyber, regenerative braking systems, and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)-certified metro stations in Delhi, Kochi, Nagpur, and Pune. Green metro initiatives have reduced emissions.

Interestingly, registrations of two-wheelers and entry-level cars have declined in metro-covered areas.

Further, metro rail development contributes to strengthening household financial stability, as lower transportation costs have reduced household debt burdens and improved liquidity management, according to a report published in January 2026 by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC).

Metro rail systems are operational in 18 cities, with expansion phases having commenced in six cities. Construction work is underway in six other cities. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, proposals have been received to introduce metro rail systems in another 12 cities.

Metro Rail Systems

Currently, metro rail systems are operational in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi,  Lucknow, Indore, Nagpur, Pune, Noida, Gurugram, Kanpur, Bhopal, and Navi Mumbai. Metro rail systems are in the construction phase in Surat, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Meerut, Agra, and Thane.

Metro rail projects are in the proposal stage in 12 cities, namely Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Gaya, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Srinagar, Raipur, Salem, and Nashik (Nashik Metro will be a rubber-tyre metro operating on elevated corridors without tracks). 

Metro projects are under consideration for 14 cities: Rajkot, Vadodara, Varanasi, Chandigarh-Tricity area, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Mysuru, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Jabalpur, Ranchi, Meerut (NCR), Hubballi-Dharwad, and Mathura. 

Underwater Metro 

Despite technical and implementation hurdles, India’s urban transportation infrastructure witnessed significant growth, bolstered by the underwater metro system. The first underwater metro service in India is part of the Kolkata Metro East–West Corridor (Green Line). This metro passes through a tunnel beneath the Hooghly River. The underwater section of the tunnel is about 520 metres long, and trains take approximately 45 seconds to cross it. Kochi has India’s first systematic electric boat-based (76-kilometre) water metro public transport network. 

Domestic Production

Under the Make in India initiative, the government has emphasised increasing the domestic production of metro coaches and related equipment. Regulations now require at least 75% of metro coaches and 25% of major equipment to be manufactured in India. Over the past 10 years, investments worth ₹2.5 lakh crore have enabled the local production of more than 2,000 coaches. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) has supplied metro coaches to Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. These projects are integrated with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, and have been given high priority under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). 

According to S.S. Rathore, Managing Director, Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRC), metro rail systems are planned in about 50 cities across India, including four cities in Gujarat. Two phases of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro project have been completed, and the third phase has now begun. Surat Metro is preparing to start operations, and its trial run was completed recently.