Enhancing Public Transport: Steps Taken by the Indian Government to Strengthen Nationwide Connectivity

A good transportation system improves connectivity and contributes to a country’s ongoing development. In India, the transportation system has been showing consistent improvement over the last few years. This blog looks at the improvements in public transportation across India and examines the government’s initiatives aimed at advancing nationwide connectivity.

Public transportation in India

Railway Network

As of FY22, Indian Railway network spans over 68,103 kilometres, up from 65,810 km in FY14. Indian Railways is the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second-largest network managed by a single administration. The Interim Budget 2024-25 allocated US$ 30.8 billion (Rs. 2.55 lakh crore) to Indian Railways with focus on investing in the modernization of the railways. Further, the government plans to launch three railway corridor programs. These are:

• Energy, mineral, and cement corridor;
• Port connectivity corridor; and
• Busy railway routes corridors.

We expect these to further enhance the economic growth in the country.

Road Network

The length of the road network in India is approximately 66.71 lakh km, second largest road connectivity in the world. India’s road network is broadly classified into following three categories:

• National Highways: 1,46,145 km
• State Highways: 1,79,535 km
• Other Roads: 63,45,403 km

Indian government’s corridor-based approach for developing highways led to a steady pace of National Highway (NH) construction between 2014-15 and 2023-24. During this period, the NH network increased by 60% to 1,46,145 km in 2023 from 91,287 km in 2014.

The length of NHs in the last five years evolved as follows.

Source: PIB

The Interim Budget 2024-25 set aside US$ 33.6 billion (Rs. 2,78,000 crore) for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) versus US$ 32.7 billion (Rs. 2,70,434 crore) allocated in FY24.

MoRTH: Five-year Budget Allocation

Source: openbudgetsindia.org

Tolling Overview

The increasing road infrastructure means need for intelligent transportation systems, such as toll management systems and advanced traffic management systems. India is making progress in ensuring tolling systems are efficient, effective, and transparent. India is also following the global trend of using smart transportation systems. The establishment of Indian Highway Management Company Limited (IHMCL) and mandating of National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) FASTag are making it easier to pay tolls digitally.

Metro Network

Union Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri informed that as of 2023, ~874 km of metro rail is operational in 20 cities nationwide and about ~986 km is under construction in various cities. He further stated that India is moving closer to having the second-largest metro network in the world.

Source: PIB

Government initiatives

Bharatmala Pariyojana

The Bharatmala Pariyojana was initiated with the primary objective of improving the efficiency of both goods and passenger transportation across the country. Phase 1 of the project was approved in October 2017 with the objective of fixing important road problems by building about 34,800 kilometres of national highways. This initiative focuses on improving highways to make sure they're all good quality and give people the same experience wherever they travel. Targeted roads under phase 1 are spread across 31 states and union territories. Among these, 27,384 km have been awarded for construction, with 15,045 km already completed. Phase I is expected to be completed by 2027-28.

The main elements of the Bharatmala pariyojna includes:

• Development of economic corridors
• Improvement of National Corridors' efficiency
• Construction of border and international connectivity roads
• Inter-corridor and feeder routes
• Coastal and port connectivity roads, and expressways.

Kochi Water Metro Project

Kochi City, known as the commercial hub of Kerala and home to a major port, is encircled by 10 inhabited islands. The residents of these islands rely heavily on Kochi City for their livelihoods as well as for trade, commerce, healthcare, and education. Despite the availability of boat services connecting the city with many of the islands, these have irregular schedules and are unreliable. Hence, there is a proposal to establish a Metro Rail-like system to link the islands with the city, ensuring consistent and reliable transportation for islanders.

The objective is to enhance socio-economic conditions and encourage infrastructural development in the islands by providing a fixed-headway water metro service. The proposed project entails the deployment of 78 air-conditioned boats and the construction of 38 jetties, termed as water metro terminals, spread across 10 islands, and covering a 76-km route in the Vembanadu Lake (backwaters of Kochi). These state-of-the-art boats will offer safety, comfort, reliability, punctuality, and affordability, mirroring the standards set by the Kochi Metro Rail system. Moreover, the project aims to facilitate intermodal connectivity by linking water metro terminals with bus terminals, metro networks, railways, and other modes of transportation, thereby enhancing overall accessibility and convenience for commuters.

Vande Bharat

There are 82 Vande Bharat train services as of January 31, 2024, operating throughout the Indian Railways system, linking states with broad gauge (BG) electrified networks. In addition, the inclusion of new train services, including Vande Bharat, and provision for stoppage of existing services are underway within the Indian Railways, contingent upon factors such as traffic demand, operational viability, and resource availability. Detailed records of revenue generated by specific trains or states are not systematically maintained.

Metro Neo Project

Metro Neo, an innovative transportation system, is set to debut in India. It would be first implemented in Nasik by Maha Metro. The Detailed Project Report (DPR), compiled by Maha Metro, is pending clearance from the Union Cabinet. Promising a seamless experience with speed, reliability and cost-effectiveness, Metro Neo aims to deliver an international level experience like traditional metro systems.

This articulated/bi-articulated trolley bus system operates with overhead electric traction and features air-conditioned buses equipped with automatic door-closing mechanisms, level boarding facilities, comfortable seating, passenger announcement systems and electronic information displays. Phase I of the project encompasses 36 stations, covering 40 km, at a cost exceeding US$ 1 billion (Rs. 8,650 crore), as per officials. Phase II, projected at over US$ 810 million (Rs. 6,700 crore), will have 32 stations.

Ropeway Project

Ropeways are becoming a popular way to travel, especially in hilly or hard-to-reach places. They're seen as safe and easy, especially for short trips. These can help ease traffic jams in urban centres also. Against this backdrop, the central government is actively promoting ropeway development nationwide. The MoRTH oversees highway development and regulates the road transport sector throughout the country.

Several ropeway projects are under construction, including the Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) route spanning 3.85 km. Bids have been invited for nine projects of around 36 km in length, including routes such as Gaurikund–Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Govindghat–Ghangaria–Hemkund Sahib (Uttarakhand), Bijli Mahadev (Himachal Pradesh), Mahakal Temple in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), Dhosi Hill (Haryana) and Sangam (Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh). Also, detailed feasibility studies are underway for another five projects covering approximately 22 km in length, including destinations such as Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Kamakhya Temple (Assam) and Kathgodam–Nainital (Uttarakhand).

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme

The scheme aims to upgrade stations in a planned way, focusing on improving station infrastructure and making facilities better for passengers. These facilities include improving accessibility, installation of lifts/escalators as needed, cleanliness of waiting halls and restroom, provision of free Wi-Fi, promotion of local products through initiatives like ‘One Station One Product’, launch of executive lounges, establishment spaces for business meetings, landscaping and other necessary amenities personalized to the requirements of each station.

Prime Minister-eBus Sewa

In August 2023, the central government launched the Prime Minister-eBus Sewa with the purpose of integrating electric buses into city bus operations. The scheme’s estimated outlay is US$ 6.9 billion (Rs. 57,613 crore). A total of 169 cities with populations of 3 lakh and above (based on the 2011 census) are eligible to participate in the scheme. The goal is to deploy 10,000 e-buses for city operations under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, which includes support for developing the e-bus ecosystem to enhance last-mile connectivity.

Future of transport in India

In India, different types of public transportation are important as the country has many different landscapes. As more people move to urban areas in India, it's expected that by 2030, over 600 million people will live in Indian cities. This shows how important city transportation is. The Vision 2025 plan aims to bring fast transportation systems to more than 50 cities by 2025.

Exploring the opportunity presented by the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), the government is directing a substantial US$ 6.93 billion into 50 innovative Urban Transport and Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) projects. With a steadfast commitment to achieving India's developed nation status by 2047, the government has allocated a substantial US$ 26 billion for metro expansion and a notable US$ 1.5 trillion for comprehensive infrastructure, including a resilient public bus network.

In the Interim Union Budget 2024-25, the Union Minister emphasized the creation of extra capacity through three key corridors. First, the focus is on developing energy, mineral and cement corridors, aimed at mitigating road pollution and reducing the cost of logistics. Second, there is a significant push from the authorities to enhance port connectivity, ensuring seamless access to ports via railways in a multimodal approach termed as 'Gati Shakti'. Third 'Amrit Chaturbhuj' initiative which is for busy train routes, kind of like the Golden Quadrilateral for roads. This project will add about 40,000 kilometres of new tracks, making trains more efficient and increasing capacity also reducing pollution. Railways have the potential to cut down on CO2 emissions by up to 90%, which will help the environment to a great level. These projects will make a big difference in India's economy by making things work better, faster, and in a way that's good for the environment.