Escalation Mechanism in Project Management - A Framework for Effective Resolution in Metro Infrastructure Projects

Escalation Mechanisms are vital in project Management because they provide a formal, time bound pathway to elevate unresolved issues and risks to higher authority before they cause major cost and schedule overruns. In large infrastructure, operational teams often lack the mandate to resolve systemic obstacles, so escalation ensures timely intervention, resource reallocation and strategic decision making at senior levels. Metro Rail projects are especially vulnerable to escalation due to their long durations, dense urban settings, complex approvals and high technical interfaces. They face recurring challenges in land acquisition, environmental and statutory clearances, utility shifting, contractor performances and multi package coordination, leading to frequent and significant overruns compared to many other project types. The study develops a structured escalation framework specifically for metro projects across the phases of construction. Though Literature review, case studies of DMRC, BMRCL, MMRDA and a stakeholder questionnaire, it identifies key escalation drivers. The study of existing escalation frameworks, revealing gaps as delayed escalation, unclear roles and thresholds and weak documentation. The proposed framework responds with phase wise measures in different phases of construction, indicates the potential to shorten the duration by 10 months and reducing the escalation in each phase by more than half, strengthening governance and delivery reliability in metro projects.