**Executive Summary**
This document is an answer by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to Unstarred Question No. 130 in Lok Sabha, scheduled for January 29, 2026. It addresses the status of metro rail project proposals, specifically whether the Union Government rejected proposals for Coimbatore and Madurai, and requests a complete list of approved Tier-II metro rail projects. The response indicates rejection of proposals for Coimbatore and Madurai with reasoning provided. An annexure with project details is also provided.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Coimbatore Metro Rail Proposal:**
* Rejected due to low average trip lengths, existing average speeds, and negligible time savings with a metro system.
* Projected ridership figures in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) are considered unrealistic compared to Chennai Metro's actual ridership.
* Construction feasibility is a concern due to the non-availability of sufficient Right of Way (ROW).
* **Madurai Metro Rail Proposal:**
* The Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) suggests that the current ridership justifies only a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS).
* **Approved Tier-II Metro Rail Projects (Annexure):**
* List includes projects in cities such as Patna, Surat, Kochi, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida & Greater Noida, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Bangalore.
* The list includes city, location, population as per the census of 2011, project cost (in Cr.) and date of approval for each project.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Government of Tamil Nadu**
* **Impact:** Rejection of metro proposals for Coimbatore and Madurai requires consideration of alternative transportation solutions.
* **Action Required:** Re-evaluate transportation plans for Coimbatore and Madurai considering the Central Government's observations, potentially focusing on BRTS for Madurai and addressing ridership and ROW concerns in Coimbatore.
**Stakeholder: Residents of Coimbatore and Madurai**
* **Impact:** Delayed or altered plans for improved public transportation.
* **Action Required:** None explicitly mentioned, but public engagement and feedback on revised transportation plans may be warranted.
**Stakeholder: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs**
* **Impact:** Successfully provided a response to Lok Sabha’s queries regarding metro rail project proposals.
* **Action Required:** Continue monitoring and evaluating other metro rail projects in Tier-II cities, in accordance with the details given in the Annexure.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: The ministry responsible for the status of Metro Rail projects mentioned in the question.
Coimbatore: Tier-II city in Tamil Nadu where the Metro Rail project proposal was rejected by the Union Government.
Madurai: Tier-II city in Tamil Nadu where the Metro Rail project proposal was rejected by the Union Government.
Metro Rail Project: The general subject of the questions and the discussion. Also listed in Annexure.
Tamil Nadu: State where Coimbatore and Madurai are located.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.130
TO BE ANSWERED ON JANUARY 29, 2026
STATUS OF METRO RAIL PROJECT PROPOSALS
NO. 130. THIRU D M KATHIR ANAND:
Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased
to state:
(a) whether the Union Government has rejected the Metro Rail project
proposals for the Tier-II cities of Coimbatore and Madurai in Tamil
Nadu and if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor;
and
(b) the complete list of Metro Rail projects approved in Tier-II cities
across the country till date, location-wise along with the
respective population of the cities and the estimated cost of each
project?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
(SHRI TOKHAN SAHU)
(a) Central Government examined the proposals for Metro Projects in cities
of Coimbatore and Madurai as submitted by Government of Tamil Nadu and
communicated observations to State Govt. The main observations are as
under:
Coimbatore
• Low average trip lengths and the existing average speeds
on road, the modal shift to metro system is not expected
due to negligible time savings.
• In addition to Coimbatore Municipal Corporation (CMC)
Area, population of Local Planning Area (LPA), has been
taken to be served by Metro system. It is difficult for people
living in LPA, which is 5 times bigger than CMC area to use
proposed metro system.
…2/--2-
• The projected ridership figure of 5.9 lakh per day for
proposed network of 34 km of Coimbatore metro is higher
as compared to actual ridership figure of 4 lakh per day on
54.10 km operational network of Chennai Metro phase-1,
which is serving larger population. Therefore, projected
ridership figures in DPR are not realistic.
• At several locations, it is not feasible to construct station
due to non availability of enough Right of Way (RoW).
Madurai
• In the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) submitted by
GoTN, it has been clearly stipulated that the current
ridership is justifiable for Bus Rapid Transit System
(BRTS).
(b) Details are given at Annexure.
*****ANNEXURE
S. City Location Population(in Project Date of
No. lakh as per Cost (in Approval
census 2011) Cr.)
1. Patna i. Danapur – 20.32 13,365.77 Feb-2019
KhemniCh
ak
ii. Patna
Station to
New ISBT
2. Surat i. Sarthana- 44.67 16,361 March -
Dream City 2019
ii. Bhesan-
Saroli
3. Kochi Phase-I 21 5,181.79 July-2012
Phase-IA 710.93 Feb-2023
Phase-IB 448.33 June-2019
Phase-II 1,957.05 Nov-2022
4. Indore Ring line: 22.91 7,500.80 Nov-2018
Bengali
Square- Vihay
Nagar –
Bhwarsala-
Airport-
Palasia
5. Bhopal i. Karond to 18.83 6,941.40 Nov-2018
AIIMS
ii. Bhadbhada
Square to
Ratnagiri
Tiraha
6. Nagpur Phase-I 24.05 9,759.79 Aug-2014
Phase-II 24.05 6,708 Dec-2022
Mumbai Line-3 124.42 23,136 July-2013
Thane Integral Ring 18.4(Parts of 12,200 Sep-2024
Metro MMR)
7. Pune PCMC- 59.91 13,656.22 Dec-2016
Swargate &
Vanaz-
RamwadiPCMC-Nigdi
Project
Nigdi Project 910.18 Oct-2023
Swargate to 2,954.53 Sept-2024
Katraj
Vanaz to 3,626.24 July-2025
Chandani
Chowk
Nal Stop-Warje 9,857.85 Dec-2025
Manik Baug
8. Agra Sikandara-Taj 15.9 8,379.62 May-2019
East Gate
Agra Cantt.-
Kalindi Vihar
9. Lucknow Phase-IA(CCS 28 6,928 Jan-2016
Airport to
Munshi Pulia)
Phase-IB 5,801.05 Sept-2025
(Charbagh to
Vasant Kunj)
10. Kanpur Corridor I: IIT 27.7 May-2019
Kanpur to
Naubasta 11,076.48
Corridor II:
Agriculture
University to
Barra 8
11. Noida & Noida Sector 7.39 5,503.00 June-2017
Greater 51 to Depot
Noida Station
Extension of 416.34 July-2025
Aqua Line from
Depot Station
to Boraki
MMTH
12. Chennai Phase-I 80 18,379.92 Feb-2009
Phase-I 3,770 June-2016
Extension
Phase-II 89.2 63,246.4 Oct-2024
13. Ahmedabad Phase-I 55 10,773 Nov-2014Phase-II 5,384.17 March-
2019
14. Delhi Phase-I 167 10,891 Nov-1996
Phase-II 25,620 March-
2006
Phase-III and 48,565 Sep-2011
extension
Phase-IV(03 24,948.65 July-2019
priority
corridor)
Phase-IV(2 8,400 March-
balance 2024
corridor)
Millenium City 5,452.72 July- 2023
Centre to
Cyber City
Gurugram
Rithala-Kundli 6,231 Jan-2025
15. Bangalore Phase-I 56.76 14,133.17
i. Byappanhalli- May-2006
Mysore Road
ii. Yeshwantpur Jan-2010
Rly Stn-
Jayanagar
Phase-II 80.51 26,405.14 Feb-2014
Phase-2A 14,788.10 June-2021
Phase-3 15,611 Sept-2024