UPSSSC Test 10

The metro rail projects being developed and operated in Lucknow, Agra, Kanpur, and Varanasi, the major urban agglomerations of Uttar Pradesh, represent a transformative investment in modern urban public transportation infrastructure that is addressing the severe and worsening traffic congestion, air pollution, road accident fatalities, and inadequate mass transit that have long afflicted these rapidly growing cities and diminished the quality of life and economic productivity of their residents. The Lucknow Metro, the first operational metro system in the state, has established the feasibility of metro rail in a north Indian tier-two city and is being extended beyond its initial priority corridors to cover a wider catchment area serving more residential and commercial zones of the city. The Agra Metro project, serving the historic city that receives millions of domestic and international tourists every year to visit the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri, will provide clean and efficient connectivity between the major tourist attractions, the railway station, the interstate bus terminus, and the residential areas, reducing the dependence of visitors and residents on private vehicles and autorickshaws that contribute to the severe air pollution that has threatened the conservation of the Taj Mahal. The metro projects are developed as public enterprises with equity participation from the Union government under the Metro Rail Policy and the state government, operated under the technical guidance of the Urban Mass Transit Company and financial support from multilateral lending institutions including the European Investment Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Feeder bus services connecting metro stations with surrounding residential colonies, markets, and institutional areas are being integrated with metro operations to improve the first and last mile connectivity that is critical to achieving high ridership on any rapid transit system.