Gokhale bridge closure: Metro one expects an increase in ridership of around 20,000 per day

Mumbai: The Gokhale Bridge, which is a key east-west connector in the Andheri area will shut down from November 7 at midnight

Mumbai: The Gokhale Bridge, which is a key east-west connector in the Andheri area will shut down from November 7 at midnight. In the wake of this, Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL), which runs metro services between Versova and Ghatkopar, has said it expects an increase in ridership by 20,000 per day.

Mumbai, India - June 7, 2014:Mumbai Metro Rail preview in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, June 7, 2014. (Photo by Kalpak Pathak/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

A spokesperson from MMOPL said, “The metro trains are anyway not congested between Andheri and Versova currently and we have enough capacity to accommodate additional passengers. We will observe the ridership from Monday and decide on increasing frequency based on the number of extra passengers we get.”

The statement issued by MMOPL read, “We anticipate the ridership to increase by around 20,000 per day. We also keep a train on standby and will introduce services, if we come across any increase in footfalls at the stations.”

Once the bridge is closed, Andheri is likely to see heavy traffic jams. HT on November 3 reported that an official from the traffic department had said it is going to be traffic nightmare and traffic police were not given enough time to prepare for this.