Metro train service will be expanded to over 25 cities across the country by 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on December 28, as he stressed on the importance of Make In India for this expansion.

"The first metro in the country was started with the efforts of Atal Ji. When our government was formed in 2014, only five cities had metro services and today 18 cities have metro rail service. By 2025, we will take metro train service to over 25 cities," said PM Modi.

"Make In India is important for the expansion of the metro train service. It reduces cost, saves foreign currency and provides more employment," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 28 inaugurated India's first-ever driverless train on Delhi Metro's Magenta Line via video conferencing

He also launched National Common Mobility Card on the Airport Express Line in the same event.

"We noted that the expansion of the metro, modern modes of transport should be used according to the needs of the people of the city and the professional lifestyle there," Modi added.

Further, the PM said, "Delhi-Meerut RRTS will reduce the distance of Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour. MetroLight - In cities where passenger numbers are less, work is being done on the MetroLite version. It is prepared at 40 per cent cost of the normal metro."

"Work is also being done on Metro Neo in the cities where the ridership is less. It is built at the cost of 25 per cent of the normal metro. Similarly, water metro - this is also an example of out of the box thinking," he added.

It may be mentioned here that presently four big companies are manufacturing metro coaches in India.

Moreover, dozens of companies are engaged in the manufacture of metro components, which the PM opined, is "helping Make in India".

"We are also using a braking system in which 50 per cent of the energy goes back into the grid when the brakes are applied. Today 130 MW of solar power is being used in metro rail, which will be increased to 600 MW," Modi added.