MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The longest underground Metro line in Mumbai, one of the city’s most expensive transportation infrastructure projects, will finally be ready for commissioning in December 2023 after overcoming significant obstacles and a two-year delay.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) completed all the tunnelling work on 30th November. The Supreme Court cleared the way around the same time for the construction of the metro car shed at Aarey, which has been the subject of a heated political debate in the state for more than five years.
“As of now, the overall project is 77 per cent completed. We recently got the clearance for the depot and now the first phase will be commissioned by December 2023 and second phase will be functional after a lag of six months, i.e in June 2024,” said S.K. Gupta, Project Director, MMRC.
The 33.5 km Metro-3 line connects Colaba, Bandra, and Seepz. Additionally, it is the city’s first underground corridor for the new metro system. 26 of the line’s 27 stops will be subterranean. It aims to unite Mumbai’s northern and southern economic sectors, including the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). Additionally, connecting to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport will be the Metro line.
The route would also be convenient for commuters because it will connect with the trains, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), and other metro lines still being developed at eight locations.
The trains running underground will have to coordinate with the signalling systems, and all technologies must communicate with every other part, which will be a challenge, said Gupta.
