First trial run of Mumbai Metro 3 to be held on August 30

Mumbai: Nearly seven years after construction of the underground Metro 3 Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ line began, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will conduct the first trial run on a three-kilometre stretch between Sariput Nagar in Aarey Milk Colony and Marol Naka today

Mumbai: Nearly seven years after construction of the underground Metro 3 Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ line began, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will conduct the first trial run on a three-kilometre stretch between Sariput Nagar in Aarey Milk Colony and Marol Naka today.

The first set of all eight coaches for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 corridor arrived for trial run on August 5. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

Chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will flag off the trial run of the much-awaited line, which has seen several delays and subsequent cost escalation owing to a dispute over the location of the metro carshed within Aarey colony.

At today’s trial run, a prototype train with eight coaches will go back and forth to complete 10,000 km on the assigned stretch. The aim of the trial is to test the speed, oscillation and emergency break distance of the coaches.

The 33.5-km-long Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 project is the first underground corridor of the metro networks coming up in the city. Of the 27 stations on this line, 26 will be underground. Around 98.6% of the work on the tunnels and 82% of the work on the underground stations are completed, Fadnavis had said earlier this month.

After receiving the eight coaches from SriCity, Andhra Pradesh, a battery-operated rail-cum-road shunter connected the first eight-car prototype train at the train delivery and testing track area in Sariput Nagar, Aarey. The work on the project started in 2016.

One of the first decisions of the Shinde-Fadnavis government, in fact, was to permit the construction of the carshed inside Aarey, reversing the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led government’s decision to construct the carshed on a plot of land in Kanjurmarg after environmentalists protested against infrastructure development inside the city’s greens.

The first phase from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to SEEPZ is expected to commence in 2024 and the state government recently approved another ₹10,000 crore for the project taking its revised cost to ₹33,000 crore.

“Currently track laying work of MIDC, SEEPZ, Siddhivinayak and Cuffe Parade Station has been completed. The first phase from BKC to SEEPZ will commence in 2024. The highlight of this metro line is the regenerative braking system that will aid significant reduction in carbon emissions,” said an officer from MMRC.

Once completed, the line will connect Mumbai’s key financial hubs such as Nariman Point, Bandra-Kurla-Complex, Fort, Worli, Lower Parel and Goregaon. The metro will provide first-time connectivity to the airport, Nariman Point, Cuffe Parade, Kalbadevi, Worli, BKC, Airport, SEEPZ and MIDC.

Besides, two important heritage stations -- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Churchgate -- will also be connected through the Mumbai Metro Line-3 alignment. Metro 3 is expected to reduce the load of suburban trains by nearly 15%. These trains can ferry around 3,000 passengers in one trip.