Union Minister for Urban Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that work on a dozen metro rails is progressing in various Indian cities at an estimated investment of Rs.1.64 lakh crore.
He was speaking after unveiling the shell of a coach being made for the Kochi Metro Rail project at the manufacturing facility of Alstom India at Sri City in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. Mr. Naidu said India needed metro rails more than cars so that public transport could be promoted.
He said the existing public transport system was inadequate for the 100 smart cities that the Union government was planning. Around 250-km metro lines were spread across cities, including Delhi.
Benefits
Less traffic congestion and pollution-free environment were the main advantages of metro rail.
The Minister cited as example Delhi’s case, which, he said, was saving Rs.10,000 crore by way of fuel and environment cost a year after metro rail was introduced.
620 coaches a year
India had the capacity to manufacture 620 metro coaches a year. Metro rail was the best form of public transport, since it met the demands of increasing urbanisation, he said. Mr. Naidu called for greater synergy between the Union and State governments for better development. Stronger State governments were the order of the day, he said. State Minister for Power and Railway Aryadan Mohammad said that metro coaches were not only the most modern but also the cheapest, at Rs.8.40 crore a coach. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy took part in the proceedings via a video link from Kochi. In a message read out at the function, Alstom Transport president Henri Poupart-Lafarge said Kochi metro coaches were the first to be fully manufactured in India.
AFD Regional Director for South Asia Aude Flogny said the French agency had decided to fund the Kochi project considering the quality of the project and the assurance of optimal use of funds. French Ambassador François Richier; K.V. Thomas and Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli, MPs; and KMRL managing director Elias George were present.
India needs metro rails more than cars: Naidu
First metro coaches to be fully made in India
