 "Mumbai Metro Trial")
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) carried out a metro rail trial run between Versova and Azadnagar in Andheri on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, covering 3 km.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who flagged off the run, announced the trials would continue for the next few months, in order to secure certification from the commissioner, Railway Safety.
Chavan said, “We expect the first phase from Versova to the airport road to start around September, and the second from the airport road to Ghatkopar by the year-end.”
The project is being developed under a public-private-partnership by a Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium, Mumbai Metro One.
The 11.4-km elevated tracks will connect the western suburb of Versova to the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar through Andheri. There will be 12 stations, and it will take 21 minutes to cover the distance, compared to the one-and-a-half hours by road.
The capacity of one coach will be 295 passengers, while the capacity of one train, comprising four coaches, is estimated to be 1,178 passengers. The metro is expected to carry 600,000 commuters a day. The fares are expected to be between Rs 10 and Rs 15.
The project cost was envisaged at Rs 2,356 crore and MMRDA had predicted an implementation schedule between 2007 and 2012. However, it has been delayed due to issues relating to clearances from the environment, railways, civil aviation and security agencies. Besides, problems in land acquisition and rehabilitation of project-affected persons also led to revision in the schedule.
“The construction of this particular corridor posed many a question, such as decades-old and unmapped underground utilities, congested areas and never-ending traffic snarls,” said Chavan.
The implementation was also marked by several accidents.
An MMRDA official said, “The initial deadline for the project was for December 2010, which was extended to June 2011 and then to March 2012. Later, it was again extended to November 2012 and finally to March this year.” However, the official hoped that Phase-I will be fully operational by December-end.
Meanwhile, Chavan announced that various transport infrastructure project worth Rs 5,500 crore including metro rail phase-I, mono rail, eastern free way, and rail over bridge will be inaugurated during the current calendar year. “The MMRDA will be inaugurating various projects this year such as mono rail, eastern freeway, Sahar elevated road, Milan rail over bridge, Santacruz-Chembur link road, a flyover at Amar Mahal junction to afford relief to different bottlenecks in the city. All put together, these projects will provide 24-km long additional roadway,” said Chavan.
He added the tendering process for the 22-km long and Rs 9,630-crore Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is nearing completion and the actual construction is expected to begin this year. He also mentioned that the state government has decided, in principle, to back the elevated railway corridor from Oval Maidan to Virar – a Rs 23,000-crore project.
