MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has recently tweaked the design of the upcoming Metro-5 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan) line, to integrate it with the Metro-4 (Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavli) corridor by a common station in Thane. While line 5 was to start from a station 500m away from the upcoming Metro-4 Kapurbawdi station, it has now been integrated with the same.

This will not only save commuters a walk of half a km but also save ₹20crore (the cost of building another station) for authorities. “While the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had planned it away from the Metro-4 station, we noticed that there could be one station and conducted a technical-feasibility study a month ago” said by senior MMRDA official.

The official added that the DMRC has prepared detailed project reports for most of the upcoming corridors. The Kapurbawdi station is the 6th station on the route from Thane to Wadala. With the stations integrated, citizens will find it easier to travel from the city to upcoming metropolitan areas.

The MMRDA is currently in the process of evaluating bids for work on line 5. It has got bids from Afcons, L&T and NCC. The authority is looking at closing the tendering process in another two months. In December 2018 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had undertaken the ground-breaking ceremony for Metro-5. By 2021 the 24-km Metro line will have 17 stations, with an expected ridership of 2.29 lakh passengers.

Metro-4 is currently under construction. As of June 3, 80% of soil-investigation works have been completed and 66% of utility works have also been completed. The 32.32-km elevated corridor will also have two extensions — a 12.7-km extension from Wadala to south Mumbai’s General Post Office and a 2.7-km extension from Kasarvadavli to Gaimukh.