Recently, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated three new corridors of the Kolkata Metro – Green, Yellow, and Orange – which have effectively linked the airport and key hubs ^[1]. Just a few days earlier, he inaugurated the Yellow Line of the Bangalore Metro, a 19.5 km stretch ^[2].

What it could mean:

While metro expansion in India paints a story of greener, faster urban mobility, the Yellow Line inauguration in Bangalore also highlights concerns that need a policy perspective amid the rapid growth of metro services nationwide. Currently, the Yellow Line is operating with just three trains, with a fourth expected by mid-September ^[3]. On the surface, this may seem like only a matter of longer wait times. At the policy level, however, it reflects challenges in metro car manufacturing and allied sub-systems in India.

Though BEML has supplied over 2,000 metro coaches and the Make in India initiative has advanced metro car manufacturing ^[4], Bangalore Metro’s shortage of coaches and dependence on China for bogie ^[5] supplies underline the need to reassess the scale of domestic metro coach production.

The rapid metro expansion and the push for greener, faster urban mobility must be matched by equivalent growth in the manufacturing of metro coaches and their components. With India-China relations improving, policy measures may also consider strategic tie-ups with Chinese companies to ensure timely supply of metro coaches and smooth import of TBMs needed for tunneling.