The Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs (MoHUA) told the media that 34 metro rail and rapid rail projects with a cumulative length of nearly 1,230 km are under implementation across the country. The ministry has received proposals for another 16 projects with a cumulative length of 638 km from eight states and Union Territories (UTs) including, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Jammu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Kashmir, and Delhi. MoHUA said that based on extant policy, the central government considers financial assistance for Metro Rail proposals in cities or urban agglomerates, the probability of the proposal, and availability of resources, as and when posed through the concerned state governments. The ministry further added that the proposals received from various state governments and UTs for executions of Metro Rail, MetroLite, MetroNeo, and Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects. As we have reported earlier, from zero to 702 km since Kolkata’s first line was made operational in 1984, India’s metro-rail system has seen remarkable growth. Approximately 1,016 km of metro rail is under construction in 27 cities and another 2,500 km likely to be constructed in the next decade to cater to the growing urban population. WIth this, India has already emerged as the largest market for rail-based urban transport projects in the world outside China. Additionally, under the central government’s asset monetisation plan, the operation of completed metro-rail projects is likely to emerge as a big opportunity for private players. Image Source Also read: Chennai Metro: CMRL floats tender to procure 70 driverless trains Also read: Alstom starts manufacturing trains for Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor