Does UP Have Over 90 kms of Metro Route as PM Modi Claims?
Over 32 kms of Metro Lines in Uttar Pradesh are extensions of Delhi Metro coming into Ghaziabad and Noida
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project on December 28, 2021 and at the inaugural ceremony he claimed that UP now has a Metro network of 90 kilometres.
"If we include Kanpur Metro today, the length of the metro in Uttar Pradesh has now exceeded 90 kms. It was 9 kms in 2014 and just 18 kms in 2017," said the PM at timestamp 43.45 in the video below.
Although, the same day, BJP misquoted the PM in a tweet, FactChecker verified what he originally said against official records.
Launch & Length of Metro in UP
Uttar Pradesh currently has Metro rail networks in three cities — Lucknow, Noida and Kanpur. "Agra and Meerut Metros are being constructed fast. In UP's other cities too, Metro is proposed. In Lucknow, Noida and Ghaziabad, Metro network is constantly being expanded," Modi had said in his December 28 speech.
Lucknow Metro: The Union Cabinet approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase - 1A, which covers a length of 22.87 kms with 22 stations, in December 2015. An 8.5-km priority section of the corridor was launched in September 2017, which was months after Bharatiya Janata Party was voted to power in the state. The entire corridor, which cost Rs 6,928 crore, was flagged off by the PM in March 2019.
However, soon after the priority corridor was inaugurated, what ensued was a Twitter battle in which former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav said the CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the project which he had already flagged off.
"Before sitting in the metro started by the Samajwadis, the government should take care of 5,000 stray cattle on the roads," tweeted Yadav, three days before the inauguration. Then, a day before, he tweeted, "Engine to pehle hi chal diya tha, dibbey to peechey aane hi the (The engine had already started running, bogies had to follow)."
The CM's office also tweeted a 2.27-minute video, in which Adityanath can been seen saying, "Varshon ki aapki tamanna puri hui hai. Yeh Metro aapki hai. Aapke liye pradesh sarkar aur kendra sarkar ki oar se ek tohfa hai (Your wish has finally come true. This Metro is yours — this is a gift for you from the central and state governments)."
The East-West corridor of Lucknow Metro or Blue Line, which will be 11.09 kms long and have 12 stations, has been proposed and its detailed project report is yet to be approved.
Noida Metro: The Noida Metro Rail Corporation operates a 29.7-km-long route from Noida Sector 51 to Greater Noida Depot which consists of 21 elevated stations. The route, called the Aqua Line, began its passenger services from January 26, 2019. This project, which connects Noida to Greater Noida, was completed at a cost of Rs 5,503 crore.
An extension of the project is still in the works. This 9.60-km-long sector will be from Sector 51 to Greater Noida Sector 2 and consist five elevated stations.
DMRC in UP: Noida and Ghaziabad got Metro route much before NMRC came into existence. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had extended Metro route to Noida in 2009.
FactChecker used the Delhi Metro Rail app and the timeline mentioned on DMRC's website to map the length of the operational network extending to Uttar Pradesh. Four Metro routes extend to the two cities: Blue Line, Pink Line, Magenta Line and Red Line.
Pink Line- The Phase III extension, which opened for public on October 31, 2018, saw the route extend to Shiv Vihar, Ghaziabad. The last station in Delhi on this extension is Gokulpuri, which is 2.2 kms from Shiv Vihar.
Red Line- The Phase III extension of this project entered UP border with the line extending to Shaheed Sthal in Ghaziabad. The last station within Delhi border on this route is Dilshad Garden, the distance between which and Shaheed Sthal is 9.4 kms (operational since March 9, 2019).
Blue Line- This line is divided into Line 3 and Line 4, both of which enter UP. Line 3 was extended into UP in two phases. In Phase II, the route, which has Mayur Vihar Extension as its last station in Delhi borders, extended to Noida City Centre with effect from November 13, 2009. Then, it further extended to Noida Electronic City on March 9, 2019 in Phase III. Distance between Mayur Vihar Extension and Noida City Centre (8.2 kms) and Noida City Centre to Noida Electronic City (6.9 kms).
Under Line 4 on this route, which extends to Vaishali, Anand Vihar is the last station within Delhi borders. This route became operational on January 27, 2010 and its length in the state is 2.5 kms.
Magenta Line- This line was not extended to but opened with routes in Noida. It was launched from Botanical Garden to Kalkaji Mandir on December 25, 2017. The last Delhi station on this route is Kalindi Kunj, the distance between which and Botanical Garden is 3.6 kms.
The current total DMRC network in Uttar Pradesh is 32.8 kms.
Kanpur Metro: The Kanpur Metro Rail Project was approved by the Union Cabinet February 2019. It is supposed to be 32 kms long, have two corridors and of this, 13 kms will be underground. It is being built at a cost of over Rs 11,000 crore. There will be 21 metro stations in corridor 1 and eight in corridor 2. The foundation stone for this project was laid in October 2016 by the then CM Akhilesh Yadav.
PM Modi inaugurated a 9-km priority section of the entire project on December 28, 2021. This section has nine metro stations as it connects IIT Kanpur to Moti Jheel.
Fact-check
Although the current operational Metro network in Uttar Pradesh is 94.37 kms, the timeline wasn't what the Prime Minister claimed. While he said, UP had 9 kms of Metro route till 2014, our analysis shows it was 10.7 kms. He claimed the network increased to 18 kms in 2017, but according to DMRC's official records, the state had 22.8 kms of Metro route by the end of 2017. The PM is though correct in saying the length of Metro in UP is now over 90 kms.
| Metro Route | Length (in kms) |
| Delhi Metro (in UP borders) | 32.8 |
| Noida Metro | 29.7 |
| Lucknow Metro | 22.87 |
| Kanpur Metro | 9 |
| Total | 94.37 |
| Year | Route length (in kms) |
| 2014 | 10.7 |
| 2017 | 22.8 |
| 2021 | 94.37 |
More than 34% of the Metro Lines in Uttar Pradesh are the extended routes of the Delhi Metro coming into Ghaziabad and Noida. While Metros in other cities of the state are still under proposal stage, the construction of Agra Metro began in December 2020. This project was also planned and announced during Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government.
FactChecker tried contacting PM's office for a comment via phone and email and called up Kumar Keshav, Managing Director at UP Metro Rail Corporation, but had not received a response by the time this article was published. If and when we, it'll be updated here.
