Top 10 cities for metro/LRT expansion
Urban mobility is in a build cycle. Between tunnelling breakthroughs, prefab viaducts, and PPP procurement, several metros will add record kilometres of new lines through 2030. This expert brief ranks ten cities by new route length scheduled/under construction in 2025–2030 and provides indicative capex per km bands. Costs vary dramatically with geology (tunnel vs. elevated), system spec (CBTC/UTO), station density, property interfaces and currency. Treat numbers as order-of-magnitude guides sourced from official agencies and project portals.
- Pipeline visibility: sections already under construction or contract award, with milestones inside 2025–2030.
- Scale: route-km added (new lines + major extensions), not counting depot spurs.
- Capex/km band: median band for the package mix (tunnel, at-grade, elevated). Currency converted to USD where possible.
- Delivery model: public works, design–build, concession/PPP, availability-based or RAB-style hybrids.
A city can show $150–250M/km on a mostly elevated LRT, yet $500M–$1B/km for CBD caverns with complex interfaces.
The most ambitious automatic metro build in Europe. With deep-bored tunnels, large cavern stations and multiple interchanges, GPE reshapes commuting patterns across Île-de-France. Economic effect: time savings for suburban labour markets, transit-oriented development around orbital hubs, and multi-decade productivity gains from better cross-suburb connectivity.
Phase IV extends coverage to underserved corridors with a mix of elevated and underground sections. Integration with the Delhi–Meerut RRTS increases regional catchments. Impact: reduced road congestion and measurable emissions cuts in NCR through mode shift.
India’s largest urban rail construction portfolio combines long elevated viaducts with a deep-bored north–south spine (Line-3). Effect: dramatic increase in high-capacity PT share, shorter cross-city journeys, and productivity gains for the financial hub.
The megacity continues its multi-corridor push, linking dense districts to Marmaray and new airport axes. Mixed tunnelling methods and value engineering keep unit costs comparatively low for a largely underground system.
A PPP-heavy program with challenging downtown works. While unit costs are high, network effect is strong: severe crowding relief on Line 1, faster crosstown trips, and better suburban access to jobs in the core.
Australia’s first fully automated metro delivers high frequency across the harbour and out to Parramatta. Benefits: travel-time competitiveness vs. private car, major TOD at stations, and a durable template for future lines.
CRL and JRL plug remaining network gaps, providing orbital options that bypass city-centre transfers. Outcome: resilience under growth, reduced bus reliance for inter-town journeys, and high reliability under UTO.
The first true subway, paired with new LRT corridors, shifts one of Asia’s most congested networks onto grade-separated rail. Impact: significant reliability and travel-time gains for east–west commuters and airport access.
Extending the NS spine into the heritage core and port districts while enhancing east–west LRT. Gains: decongestion of key arterials, air-quality improvements and dependable port–CBD connectivity.
Bangkok’s incremental network growth adds capacity on radials and orbitals, with PPP concessions for monorail/LRT sections. Result: wider job catchments and reliable alternatives to chronic expressway congestion.
Bottom line: Cities combining long elevated viaducts with standardised stations deliver lower capex/km and faster roll-outs. Deep CBD tunnelling with complex interchange caverns can push beyond US$500M/km but unlock step-change agglomeration benefits. The most durable value comes from network effects: where new lines create non-CBD interchanges and orbital choices, peak loads flatten and average door-to-door times fall across the city.
Each filled box = 20 km of new lines. This “segmented” approach avoids percentage math and rounding issues, so every row looks perfectly straight across devices and page builders. Typography is large by default.
Reading the Board
The chart shows 2025–2030 additions where works are under construction or contracted. Capex per kilometre is directional; tunnel-heavy CBD packages run far higher than elevated LRT. When quoting figures, state whether the scope includes stations, land, systems, and rolling stock.
Primary Sources (official/operator portals)
- France — Société du Grand Paris (GPE): societedugrandparis.fr
- India — DMRC (Delhi Metro) & NCRTC (RRTS): delhimetrorail.com · ncrtc.in
- India — MMRDA / Mumbai Metro Rail Corp: mmrda.maharashtra.gov.in · mmrc.co.in
- Türkiye — Metro Istanbul & IMM: metro.istanbul
- Philippines — DOTr / JICA Metro Manila Subway: dotr.gov.ph
- Thailand — MRTA: mrta.co.th
- Singapore — LTA: lta.gov.sg
- Australia — Sydney Metro: sydneymetro.info
- Canada — Metrolinx (Ontario Line, Eglinton, Scarborough): metrolinx.com
- Indonesia — MRT Jakarta & PT KAI: jakartamrt.co.id · kai.id
Tip: If you want exact km and cost scopes by package, pull the latest tender/contract PDFs from the portals above and update the labels in Block 3A.
