Puri inaugurates Urban Mobility India 2022 in Kochi

KOCHI, Kerala: Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo 2022 is being held in Kochi from November 4-6, 2022. Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan jointly inaugurated the event on November 4, 2022.

The theme of ‘Azadi@75 – Sustainable AatmaNirbhar Urban Mobility’ will be the main focus of the UMI Conference Cum Expo 2022. The discussions will be focused around making transport in cities efficient and sustainable. The conference’s main goal is to enlighten the cities and keep the attending officials up to date on the most cutting-edge and effective urban strategies being used throughout the world. This is related to the government’s National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) 2006, which places a heavy emphasis on developing state and local capacity. Innovations in the field of technology have led to more cost-effective alternatives for medium sized cities like Metro Neo and Metro Lite instead of traditional Metro Rail. The desired end goal of all these developments is ultimately minimising the need and use of personal transport in favour of public transport.

The event is being organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in collaboration with Government of Kerala at Hotel Grand Hyatt Kochi, Kerala. Participants at this event will include senior policymakers from the central and state governments, CEOs of transportation companies, managing directors of metro rail companies, and international experts, professionals, academicians, and students. The three-day conference will have 10 technical sessions, five round table discussions, one conclave, two plenary sessions, and eight research symposiums.

Hardeep S Puri acknowledged that other nations’ best practices and lessons have been included into the Indian Urban Mobility Systems and remarked that we have been able to learn from their experiences. The metro lines we’re unveiling today are the kind of systems that incorporate the best systems from across the world. Regarding the rapid development of Indian metro lines in global context, Puri stated that as of September 2022, 810 km of metro line are operational in 20 cities and a network of more than 980 km of metro network and RRTS is currently under construction in 27 cities. At present, India has the fifth-largest metro network in the world, and will soon overtake advanced economies such as Japan and South Korea to become the third-largest network.

Loknath Behera, Managing Director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, in a message, expressed his happiness that Kochi is hosting this year’s UMI conference. About Kochi’s remarkable developments in urban mobility he said, “After the operationalisation of Kochi Metro Rail in 2017, the city is going to witness the launch of the world’s largest fleet of battery operated passenger boat under single command – Koch Water Metro. Now, the effort is to have an intermodal integrated transportation system in the city of Kochi – ‘one card for all public transport.'”