Who Runs India’s Highways, Metros and Freight Corridors: Scale and Data Gaps

Thursday, 15 October 2026

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Who Runs India’s Highways, Metros and Freight Corridors: Scale and Data Gaps

Public disclosures do not consistently separate maintenance costs from other operating expenses. Operators are easier to compare on network size than on the financial responsibilities they carry. Highways come first, because their operators and contract terms are the easiest to see.

Cross-section of a road showing its layers, with an orange repair patch in the lower layer and a small figure standing on the surface — The surface is what people see. Maintenance and repair costs sit in the layers beneath.

Who operates India's national highways after construction?

Private concessionaires and InvITs, including IRB Infrastructure Developers, Cube Highways Trust, Vertis Infrastructure Trust and Interise Trust, manage substantial highway portfolios across India.

Lane km count each lane separately, so a 100 km four-lane highway represents 400 lane km. Portfolio lengths reported in lane km therefore cannot be compared directly with India's national highway network, which the MoRTH puts at about 1.46 lakh km of road length.

These portfolio figures show operational footprint, but not the maintenance responsibilities each operator carries. That depends on the underlying contract. A concessionaire collecting tolls maintains the road throughout its concession, while a construction contractor's obligations generally end after the defect liability period.

How are highway operators paid, and who carries maintenance?

Payment models determine who maintains a highway, for how long and how that work is funded. Under the build operate transfer (BOT) model, concessionaires generally operate and maintain highways for 15 to 20 years. In a BOT toll project, revenue depends on traffic, so the concessionaire carries that risk. Under the BOT annuity, the government makes scheduled payments instead.

Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors have shorter obligations, with a defect liability period of 5 years for the bituminous pavement works and 10 years for concrete pavement works, with long-term maintenance arranged separately.

Under the hybrid annuity model (HAM), concessionaires generally maintain highways for 15 years, receiving government annuities and operation and maintenance payments under the contract. For stretches where the defects liability period has ended or no concession applies, the government uses STMC, generally lasting one to two years, and PBMC, lasting approximately five to seven years. In both cases, meeting maintenance standards is part of the operator's payment obligation.

Two operators with identical lane kilometres can face vastly different cash flow risks and renewal burdens. The timing of the next major resurfacing matters just as much as portfolio size.

How much of India's operating national highway portfolio has been monetised?

Under asset monetisation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) transfers operating rights over completed highways to investors for an agreed period in return for payment. The investor takes on the operating and maintenance responsibilities specified in the agreement.

In March 2026, NHAI reported realising ₹28,307 crore in FY26 through public and private InvITs and toll-operate-transfer contracts, against a government budgeted target of ₹30,000 crore. NHAI also accepted Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust's ₹9,500 crore offer for five national highway sections spanning over 260 km across Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The share of the operating network already monetised is less clear.

The open point on any transferred highway is who pays for the next major repairs. A highway nearing resurfacing could bring substantial costs soon after transfer, depending on the agreement.

Who runs India's metro networks and dedicated freight corridors?

Metro networks and dedicated freight corridors are largely operated by public-sector entities, although some metro services operate under public-private partnerships. As of July 2026, India has about 1,159 km of operational metro rail network, including 82.15 km of the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) operates metro services in Nagpur and Pune.

DFCCIL operates the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors, spanning a combined 2,843 route km. The Ministry of Railways reported that more than 443 freight trains operated on the corridors each day on average in July 2026.

For metro operators, the challenge is maintaining reliable services as networks expand and equipment ages. For DFCCIL, it is keeping freight corridors operational as freight volumes grow.

Are maintenance order books public for India's transport operators?

Publicly available financial reports provide some information on maintenance spending, but the level of detail varies between operators. For example, IRB InvIT's FY25 annual report provides project-wise operating and maintenance costs. However, reported expenditure alone does not show what an operator may need to spend on future repairs or how those costs are allocated under its contracts.

That distinction matters because maintenance obligations vary across concession and procurement models. Under BOT, HAM, TOT and InvIT arrangements, operators carry maintenance responsibilities over different periods, while some construction and equipment contracts include maintenance beyond the defects liability period. Comparing operators therefore requires more than portfolio size or annual expenditure. Project directors need to know which repairs are covered, when major work is due and who is responsible for paying for it.

What should project directors ask operators for?

Beyond portfolio size, project directors should ask operators five questions.

What does maintenance cost? Ask for several years of spending on routine upkeep and major repairs, alongside projected costs. Where possible, compare expenditure per lane km or route km, accounting for asset condition and the work covered.
Who pays for what? Check the remaining contract term, how the operator is paid and who bears the cost of major repairs.
Are maintenance standards being met? Review inspection reports, outstanding defects and completed repairs. These records are particularly important under performance-based maintenance contracts and concession agreements, where operators must meet contractual maintenance standards.
Can the operator keep up as assets age? Review staffing, equipment condition and service disruptions.
What repairs are coming up? Ask for a three-to-five-year schedule of resurfacing, bridge repairs and equipment replacements, along with estimated costs and funding provisions.

India's transport networks are growing, but knowing how much infrastructure an operator manages says little about what it costs to maintain. Until highway concessionaires and metro operators separate routine maintenance, major repairs and spending per lane km or route km, project directors will have to extract that detail contract by contract. The operators that offer it first will be the easiest to compare.