Central Govt plans Neo, Lite & Water Metro for tier 2-3 cities

The Central Government has proposed Metro Lite, Neo-Metro and Water Metro to provide an eco-friendly, energy-efficient and cost-effective mass public transport system in tier 2 and 3 cities. The proposed metro types are suitable for emerging traffic requirements. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MoHUA) secretary Durga Shankar Mishra chaired a conference in Pune with urban development principal secretaries of all state governments and union territories. Mishra said, "India is a diverse country and cities in India have a population ranging between 10-15 lakhs to 1.5-crore. All these cities need robust, reliable, safe and environmentally friendly public transport system which will make these cities more habitable. A robust transport is of utmost importance for the growth of any city and hence an appropriate public transport system needs to be proposed, depending upon the size of commuters and the economic activities of the city."

He added, "A metro system which has been built in Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai may not be suitable for tier-2 or tier-3 cities since the commuters are lesser in these towns. The very high Peak Hour Per Direction Traffic (PHPDT) will only justify the rail-based standard gauge metro system. However, the tier-2 and tier-3 cities should have appropriate capacity mass rapid transport systems. Metro Neo is the rubber tyre based articulated bus system which will draw power from an overhead electric conductor. Similarly, Metro Lite is popular in Europe and advanced countries. It is a tram-like system which does not require the paraphernal of a rail-based metro system."

MD of Kochi metro proposed a water metro system which will be helpful to provide the mass transit system in kayals (creek) of Kerala coast, canals and waterways.