India Plans Overhaul Of Metro Rail Policy: Land Laws, Parking, And Revenue Models Under Review

According to The Indian Express, the government is currently considering new laws and policies to speed up metro rail projects and enhance commuter convenience more than 40 years after India's first metro service was introduced. The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) recently hosted a meeting in Gandhinagar on March 31 and April 1 to address important changes with senior officials and managing directors of metro rail corporations.

Nearly all participants expressed concern about the lengthy land acquisition process for metro projects, mostly because of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013's requirement for social impact assessments.

The conference recommended that other states look at similar amendments to get around the need for social impact assessments for metro projects, citing the exemptions given in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The officials also talked about planned changes to the 1978 Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act. The existing law does not require a social impact study and simply permits the Union government to purchase land for metro development. Participants suggested amending the Act to give state governments or metro administrations the authority to directly acquire land.

The symposium suggested a number of tactics to increase non-fare box revenue. These include allowing long-term leases, promoting residential building close to metro corridors, and raising floor area ratios (FAR). Allowing metro systems to move cargo during off-peak hours was another topic of discussion among officials. Soon, a committee will be established to create laws or rules that will improve these non-fare revenue streams.

Another important concern was metro station parking infrastructure. The officials suggested adding more multi-level and basement parking spaces, particularly at underground metro stations, to increase accessibility and promote ridership. The work of creating a nationwide parking policy specifically for metro systems will fall to a different group.

India has the third-largest metro network in the world as of January 2025, with around 1,000 km of metro rail operating in 23 cities and another 1,000 km being built. Kolkata saw the opening of the nation's first metro line in 1984.

The necessity to boost metro ridership was underlined by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs in 2022. The committee stated in its report from April 2022 that one of the main obstacles for commuters is a lack of parking. Nearly 1 crore people rode all metro systems every day as of December 2024.

The committee had criticized the performance of most operational metro systems-excluding Delhi Metro and Mumbai Metro Line 1-highlighting low ridership in cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata, and Kochi. It pointed to faulty detailed project reports (DPRs), inadequate first and last mile connectivity, insufficient parking, and the need to expand catchment areas as key issues hampering metro effectiveness.

These discussions and proposed changes aim to make metro systems more financially sustainable, accessible, and commuter-friendly across India.