Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line Sunday through a video conference. The National Common Mobility Card was expanded to the Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro, which was started in Ahmedabad last year. Union Minister Hardeep Puri and Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister termed today’s event as an attempt to make urban development future ready. He said preparing the country for future needs is an important responsibility of governance. He lamented the fact that a few decades ago, when the demand of urbanisation was felt, there was not much attention given to the needs of the future, half-hearted work was done and confusion persisted. He said unlike this, modern thinking says that urbanization should not be seen as a challenge but used as an opportunity to build better infrastructure in the country, an opportunity through which we can enhance Ease of Living.
He said this difference of thinking is seen now in every dimension of urbanization. He added that in 2014, only 5 cities had metro rail and today, metro rail is available in 18 cities. By the year 2025, we are going to expand it to more than 25 cities. In 2014, only 248 km of metro lines were operational in the country and today it is about three times, more than 700 kilometers. By the year 2025, we are trying to expand it to 1700 km. He stressed that these are not just figures, they are proof of ease of living in the lives of crores of Indians. These are not just infrastructures made of brick and stone, concrete and iron, but are evidence of the fulfillment of the aspirations of the citizens of the country, the middle class of the country.
The Prime Minister remarked that the government formulated the metro policy for the first time and implemented it with an all-round strategy. Emphasis was on working according to local demand, promoting local standards, Make in India expansion and use of modern technology. He said it was noted that the expansion of the metro, modern modes of transport should be used according to the needs of the people of the city and the professional lifestyle there. This is the reason why work is being done on different types of metro rail in different cities.