CM flags off two Metro corridors, citizens take a joyride

Along with the chief minister, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray and other cabinet ministers were also present

Mumbai Almost eight years after the first Metro corridor between Versova and Ghatkopar took off in June 2014, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday flagged off two Metro corridors in the western suburbs.

Further, regular services will remain operational from Sunday for the first phase. The second phase of both the above Metro corridors will be open by October 2022 (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

This includes Dahisar East Andheri West Metro-2A and Dahisar East Andheri East Metro-7 corridor. However, on Saturday, only the first phase of both Metro corridors was flagged off. The entire length of both phases is around 35 km.

Along with the chief minister, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray and other cabinet ministers were also present. Thereafter, operations for the public started at 8 pm and commuters were offered a free ride.

Further, regular services will remain operational from Sunday for the first phase. The second phase of both the above Metro corridors will be open by October 2022.

Starting Sunday, the two Metro corridors will be operated for 15 hours daily between 6 am to 9 pm. The fare structure will be between ₹10 to 50 and monthly seasonal passes will not be issued now.

Thackeray and Pawar were the first two commuters to board the train after purchasing a ticket and later visited and spoke to the staff members at the operation control centre.

However, the ceremony was boycotted by BJP MLAs and MPs. Speaking at the event, Thackeray said, “The city is getting populated day by day and we need more and more modes of transportation.”

Pawar said, “We are going to spend more than 4 lakh crore on infrastructure in the state. This year in the budget, we have allocated more than 1 lakh crore and will spend appropriately further on infrastructure works.”

Present at the event, SVR Srinivas, Metropolitan commissioner of the MMRDA, said, “By starting these two Metro corridors, we can handle 3,00,000 commuters, and in the next five to six months, the entire corridor will be operational. We have ensured that work doesn’t get affected.”

Meanwhile, several commuters had come for a joyride on the first day. Deputy mayor Suhas Wadkar along with his party workers from Yuva Sena also took the first ride on Saturday.

Samji Joseph, a commuter, said, “I reside in Goregaon East and am waiting for Metro corridors to start towards south Mumbai. However, today I am just here for the experience.”

17-year-old Mayank Upadhyay and Darsh Gohil, who were on a joyride, said “We feel that Metro authorities should make it more affordable to compete with the local trains.”