New Delhi, Dec 19 (NationPress) India is poised to achieve the status of having the second-largest metro rail network globally, with 993 km of metro rail currently operational across 23 cities and approximately 997 km under construction in 28 cities, according to the Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar.

The Union Minister delivered a comprehensive presentation on Urban Transport to the consultative committee members of Parliament linked to MoHUA, based on an official statement released on Thursday.

He underscored that Urban Mobility is a critical element in addressing the growing urban population, and the government is tirelessly working to enhance the Urban Transport Network nationwide.

The attendees were informed about the Metro Rail Policy 2017 and the metro networks in various cities, including Delhi, Jaipur, Patna, and Lucknow.

The ongoing projects related to the RRTS (Regional Rapid Transport System), a high-speed train network, were also discussed, including the funding models associated with it.

Furthermore, the briefing highlighted initiatives aimed at promoting the indigenisation of technologies under the Make in India initiative and fostering Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Additionally, the PM-eBus Sewa program was mentioned, aimed at enhancing city bus services by introducing 10,000 e-buses through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Key features of this initiative comprise the deployment of 10,000 e-buses under the PPP model, operational support for a decade, assistance for the development and upgrading of bus depots, and support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.

This service is designed to cater to cities with populations ranging from 3 to 40 lakh.

The briefing also introduced the concept of 'One Nation One Card', an indigenously developed National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019 to facilitate seamless travel across Metro, Rail, Bus, and other public transport services.

During the meeting, Members of Parliament brought up several concerns regarding urban mobility, which included issues related to last-mile connectivity, improvement of amenities, metro connectivity in their respective states, scaling up metro operations nationwide, enhancing ease of travel, and ensuring passenger comfort.

Among the MPs present were Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Dinesh Sharma, Ajay Maken, Kamaljeet Sherawat, P.N. Vasava, Prof V.E. Gaikwad, Kavita Patidar, B.M. Sutariya, V.E. Vaithilingam, G. Lakshminarayana, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and Y. Chandolia.

The Minister instructed officials to review the suggestions made by the members and ensure that the information requested by them is provided promptly.