India's Metro Lines: Empty and Underdelivering

0:00It's April 19th. Global news today starts now. AI powered and worldwide. I'm Cori with the story. India's shiny new metro lines are riding empty, like Mumbai's aqua line last month, where trains cleared out early and the final stop looked. Ghost Town Quiet. This underground route from Kaffee Parade to business hubs in the airport opened last year, but folks say it's too pricey, with fares from 10 to 70 rupees per trip. Meanwhile, the whole country's metro network exploded since 2014, with the government dropping over $26 billion, too. Stretched forefold, to more than 1000 kilometers by next year. Daily riders jumped from 3 million to over 11 million in the last decade, but that's smoke and mirrors. Experts from places like the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi report actual use at just 25 to 35 percent of what planners promised. In spots like Kanpur, it's a shocking 2 percent, and even Chennai's first phase hit only 37 percent.

1:02People are griping about costs eating 20 percent of low earners payway above global norms, and suburban trains offer cheaper passes like 5. 190 rupees for 3 months in Mumbai. Fair hikes in Bengaluru, tanked ridership by 13 percent, sparking protests, while safety worries and dragging bags to stations keep tourists and locals away. Digging into fixes, pros blame puffed up demand forecasts, skimpy train frequencies up to 25 minutes in Bengaluru, and short coach counts. Versus world standards of 9 cars every 90 seconds. Delhi bucks the trend with ridership over projections, but that's from counting line switches as extra trips. Bottom line, metros could boom with better bus links, shorter weights, fair caps, and seamless ops across cities, but without that push they'll keep. Underdelivering amid gridlock and smog, traffic's at a breaking point, time to make these rails the real MBPs.