PM Modi approves setting up of committee headed by Metro Man E Sreedharan to lay down standards for metro rail systems

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday approved the proposal of setting up of a committee to lay down standards for metro rail systems in the country. The committee will be headed by E Sreedharan, also known as the metro man. Elattuvalapil Sreedharan is a retired Indian Engineering Service (IES) officer who has served as the managing director of Delhi Metro from 1995 to 2012.

The development comes barely hours after the inauguration of Delhi Metro's Green Line service between Mundka to Bahadurgarh. The 11.2-km-long corridor will have seven stations and stretch out from existing Delhi Metro Green Line from Inderlok to Mundka.

Speaking via video-conferencing during the inauguration, the Prime Minister said that commuters should now get rid of private vehicles and opt for metro rail services. "Our priority is to build convenient, comfortable and affordable urban transport systems in our cities," he said.

"The process of making Metro systems is also linked to cooperative federalism. Wherever Metros are being built in India, the Centre and the respective state Governments are working together," he added.

PM Modi also emphasised on Make in India by suggesting that metro coaches should be built indigenously. "We also want to boost make in india by making coaches of the Metro in India itself. Several nations helped us in the making of the Delhi Metro and other Metros, and now, we are helping other nations by designing coaches for their Metro systems," he said.