Fasttracks, fuzzy math

As Bihar polls near, upcoming Patna Metro fuels excitement — but across India, expensive metro dream projects often outweigh ridership and financial reality, writes Aditi Phadnis

- Aditi Phadnis

Patna is fizzing with excitement. It is getting a new international airport, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on April 24, and an elevated roadway.

And come August 15, the city will get a metro line — Bihar's first; it is only the first phase, covering five stations and stretching just over 6 km. But even this has sparked anticipation, especially as further lines are expected to follow. In June last year, the state government approved the construction of metro lines in Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur. With these additions, Bihar will join Agra (the most recent), Lucknow, Jaipur, and a host of smaller Indian cities that already have functioning metro systems.

And the demand for metros is only rising — especially when elections loom, as in Bihar, which heads for assembly polls at the end of the year. The best part: This is infrastructure with no political downside — just a lot of financial question marks.

A member of the Legislative Council, Devesh Kumar (Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP), says the metro will help decongest Patna and eventually lead to the development of satellite townships, particularly with the construction of the new airport.

Patna is bursting at the seams: It was the 21st fastest-growing city in the world and the fifth fastest-growing in India between 2006 to 2020 (City Mayors' statistics). The metro area population in 2025 is estimated to be around 2.7 million, up 2.16 per cent from 2024.