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A glance at the world's developing nations indicates that well planned Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) exist successfully.Metro Rails has been a successful attempt worldwide which has resoved the problem of transpoetation.

India (like many other developing countries)is finding this solution fitting her urbanization need.However it has lagged behind though its first metro, the Kolkata Metro, started working almost 25 years ago.

The reasons could be attributed to lack of funds planning as is known that such projects require huge capital investments, a long gestation period and complex technology.

Other reasons could include the lack of integration between various systems of mass transportation and the absence of comprehensive traffic and transportation planning.

While researches show that the ideal modal share of public transport should be around 70%, however it is in tune to only 35%–40% in India's metro cities.

India is looking to create a world class infrastructure with its existent Kolkata and Delhi Metros with the addition of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, and Kochi metros in the next few years while proposals for MRTS for Pune, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Bhopal, Indore and Faridabad are being chalked out.

A metro model for a county would have to depend on its logistics, financial resources and should avoid aping a western modern blindly as the variable differ from country to country, region to region. India rather should concentrate on learning from its shortcomings and adopt a holistic approach to custom fit her needs.

Metro projects are meant to cater to cities with more than four million population and the costs in these cases are related to areas which are proposed to serve underground, elevated or at grade alignment. Larger the underground and elevated proposal, larger shall be the cost involved.

Funding thus is an inevitable factor that has to determine both the fix capital and the working capital needed to run an efficient Metro rail system as more and more lives of people will depend on it.

Perhaps PPP model will work more efficiently with constant plough back of the profit in running the Metro rail at its best.

Ahmedabad Metro is a new rapid transit system under construction between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, India. Owned by Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA), the project was approved in October 2014.

 The project is being developed by the MEGA, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) jointly owned by the Government of India (GoI) and the Government of Gujarat.

 The final detailed project report (DPR) for the Ahmedabad Metro was prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and approved in March 2015. Construction began with the ground-breaking ceremony held in March 2015 and is expected to be completed by 2020.

 The project aims to meet the transport needs of the city's growing population, which is expected to reach 8.64 million by 2020.

The total length of the Ahmedabad Metro Phase One will be 39.26km, of which 6km will be underground and the remainder will be elevated. The first phase will include two corridors and 32 stations, connecting four corners of the Ahmedabad city.

 

The first phase is divided into two sections, the North-South Corridor and the East-West Corridor. The 18.52km-long North-South Corridor will have 15 stations. It will connect Motera Stadium with APMC through Sabarmati, AEC, Sabarmati Railway station, Ranip, Vadaj, Vijaynagar, Usmanpura, Old Highcourt, Gandhigram, Paldi, Shreyas, Rajivnagar and Jivraj stations.

The 20.73km-long East-West Corridor will have 17 stations. It will pass through Nirant Cross Road, Vastral, Rabari Colony, Amraiwadi, Apparel Park, Kankaria East, Kalupur Railway Station, Ghee Kanta, Shahpur, Old High Court, Stadium, Commerce Six Road, Gujarat University, Gurukul Road, Doordarshan Kendra and Thaltej stations, while connecting Vastral Gaam to Thaltej Gaam.

 

The underground section will feature four stations, while the elevated link will have 13 stations. The interchange station for the corridors will be the Old High Court station.

 

The Phase two will connect Mahatma Mandir, Sachivalaya, Gift City and Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU). The 34.6km stretch will originate at Motera and terminate at Mahatma Mandir with 24.

The metro system will feature ballast-less tracks, GPS-based rail tracking system, train destination indicators, automated fare collection, and parking facilities.

It will also feature fibre optic cables, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, train radio and a public-address system. Control telephones and a centralized clock system will be installed, while the automatic fare collection system will be integrated with passenger-operated machines and smart cards.

Hyundai Rotem was awarded the contract for the design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 96 standard gauge cars and personnel training, in October 2017.Nippon Signal secured the contract for signalling and train control systems.

 

In January 2017, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) bagged the contract to construct the section between Kalupur and West Ramp, which includes tunnels and two stations. Power supply receiving and distribution system, 750V DC third rail traction electrification and SCADA system will be provided by the consortium of Siemens India and Siemens.

 

In December 2016, Simplex Infrastructure received the contract to construct the 8.94km-long link between Shreyas and Ranip, including viaducts and six stations.

 

A joint venture between China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Tata Projects won a contract to construct a section between Thaltej Gam and West Ramp in January 2017, including a viaduct and seven stations