Aim to provide world-class experience to all Metro commuters in Mumbai
DK Sharma, the managing director of the newly formed Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Ltd (MMMOCL), an umbrella organisation for all Metro corridors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), said the company is looking at developing one of the top Metro systems in the world and provide a “world-class experience” to all Mumbaiites.
In an exclusive interview with HT, Sharma, a former railway officer, said MMMOCL will send its employees to Delhi and Hyderabad to study the Metro systems there before beginning trial runs for Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) in 2020. He also said MMMOCL is looking at all sorts of commuter-centric facilities available in modern Metro-systems across the world.
Excerpts from the interview:
MMMOCL will act as an umbrella organisation for the operation and maintenance of all upcoming Metro corridors in MMR. While agencies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) are undertaking the construction of the corridors in MMR, once the lines are commissioned, MMMOCL will take charge. We will also look at developing infrastructure for electric vehicles…the plan is still in process.
We are looking at completing our recruitment process by November-end, after which we will send our staff for training to cities like Delhi and Hyderabad. While we plan to start a training centre [for our employees] in Mumbai later, we want the staff to look at existing Metro operations before initiating the trial runs for Metro-2A and Metro-7 in mid-2020.
We aim to become one of the topmost Metro-systems by providing a world-class experience to commuters. We are looking at safety, security, access, comfort and developing an energy-efficient model. We will provide all facilities, be it in ticketing, customer-interface or grievance redressal systems, just like any other modern Metro system. MMRDA is also working on an integrated-ticketing system which will provide seamless travel; commuters can travel via different modes of transport using just one card.
Some of the Metro corridors will be reaching parts of the city which are not connected via the railway system today. We are also looking at east-west connectivity which will benefit many Mumbaiites. Those travelling by road will also definitely switch to Metro, considering factors such as time, comfort and reliability. This is a win-win situation for both the government and the citizens.