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Rapid transit in India consists of bus, metro, monorail and light rail systems. The first rapid transit system in India was the Kolkata Metro, which started operations in 1984. The Delhi Metro was India's first modern metro and the third rapid transit system in India overall, after the Kolkata Metro and Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (Chennai MRTS), beginning operations in 2002. Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon, which started operations in November 2013, is India's first privately owned and operated metro. The Mumbai Monorail, which opened on 7 February 2014 is the first monorail in India, since the closing of the Patiala State Monorail Trainways in 1927.
Contents
- Bus Rapid Transit System
- Metro rail
- Monorail
- Light rail
- Legislation
- BEML Ltd
- Bombardier
- Alstom India
- References
In 2006, the National Urban Transport Policy proposed the construction of a metro rail system in every city with a population of 20 lakh (2 million). On 11 August 2014, Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu announced that the Union Government would provide financial assistance, for the implementation of a metro rail system, to all Indian cities having population of more than 1 million. In May 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Union Urban Development Ministry's proposal to implement metro rail systems in 50 cities. The majority of the planned projects will be implement through special purpose vehicles, which will be established as 50:50 joint ventures between the Union and respective State Government. The Union Government will invest an estimated ₹5 lakh crore (US$74 billion). In new draft policy unveiled in March 2017, the Central Government stated that it wanted State Governments to consider metro rail as the "last option" and implement it only after considering all other possible mass rapid transit systems. The decision was taken due to the high cost of constructing metro rail systems.
Currently, rapid transit systems operate in 15 cities and more are under construction or in planning in several cities of India.
Bus Rapid Transit System
Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is a rapid transit for city bus service in India. The following table shows BRTS in India along with details.
Gallery
Metro rail
There are currently 8 operational metro systems in India. As of September 2016, India has 324 km of operational metro lines. A further 520 km of lines are under construction.
Metro rail lines in India are composed of both standard gauge and broad gauge. Projects like the Delhi Metro used broad gauge for their earliest lines but most new projects in India are on standard gauge as rolling stock imported from Europe is on Standard Gauge. One exception is the Ahmedabad Metro, which will use Broad gauge, as there is more space available inside the coach.
1In operation Number of lines currently operating. Line is considered to be operating if services are running on at least one section.
2Planned Lines that are planned to b
Monorail
The Mumbai Monorail, which opened on 2 February 2014 is the first operational monorail system used for rapid transit in independent India. Many other Indian cities have monorail projects, as a feeder system to the metro, in different phases of planning.
| |style="background:#FFFF00;"| Jabalpur | Jabalpur Monorail
Light rail
Green background for the systems that are under construction. Blue background for the systems that are currently in planning. Yellow background for other proposed systems but no planning yet. Pink background for systems that are defunct.
Legislation
The subject of Railways is in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, giving Parliament the exclusive power to enact legislation concerning it. According to Ministry of Urban Development (India) Kamal Nath, "Since the Metro rail is a central subject, it has been decided that all such projects in the country, whether within one municipal area or beyond, shall be taken up under the Central Metro Acts."
Construction of metros in India are governed by the centrally enacted "The Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978" which defines itself as an act to provide for the construction of works relating to metro railways in the metropolitan cities and for matters connected therewith. Operation and maintenance of metros is governed by "The Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002". Both laws were amended in 2009 with the passing of "The Metro Railways (Amendment) Act, 2009". The amendment expanded the coverage of both the acts to all metropolitan areas of India.
Initially, state governments attempted to implement metro rail projects through various Tramways Act. However, the Commissioner of Railways Safety (CRS), who operates under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is tasked with providing safety certification for metro rail projects. The CRS refused safety certification unless the projects were implemented under a Metro Act enacted by the state government and published in The Gazette of India. Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), another railway entity, also refuses certification to projects not implemented under the criteria. Subsequently, several state governments have enacted their own Metro Acts.
BEML Ltd
BEML Bharat Earth Movers limited manufactures of Rolling Stock consortium with Hyundai Mitsubishi Rotem BEML.
Bombardier
Bombardier built a £26m factory in Savli, Gujarat after it won a contract to supply 614 cars to the Delhi Metro. Production at Savli began in June 2009.
In June 2012, the plant won an order to supply semi-finished bogies to Australia.
Alstom India
In 2013, Alstom built a factory in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh after it won a €243 million contract to supply 168 cars to the Chennai Metro. The 156-acre plant will be used to supply trains to cities in India and abroad.