Metro-7, 2A make in-roads as ridership crosses 3 crore mark

Commuters in Mumbai are increasingly turning to metro rail lines for their daily commute due to heavy crowding on local trains, with the daily average passenger count on two lines closing in on the 2-lakh mark. The total number of passengers on the Anand Nagar-Andheri West Line-2A and Gundavali-Ovaripada Line-7 has surpassed 3 crore. Officials expect the 2-lakh mark to be reached by the end of June. The shift comes as Indian Railways looks at upgrading the suburban rail system with Vande Metro or a new batch of AC locals under the MUTP-3A.

Mumbai: At a time when local trains witness heavy crowding and demands for AC coaches pick up, more and more commuters seem to be making a shift to the metro rail lines running parallel to the Western Railway as their preferred choice of ride.

HT Image

Not only has the total number of passengers who have travelled to the Anand Nagar - Andheri West Line-2A and Gundavali - Ovaripada Line-7 surpassed the 3 crore mark; their daily average passenger count is closing on the 2-lakh mark, which officials say will be attained by end of June once rains begin.

This comes at a time when the Indian Railways are looking at calling tenders in June for upgrading the suburban rail system with Vande Metro or a new batch of AC locals under the MUTP-3A.

Over the months, the growth of the daily passenger count has been rising slowly, yet steadily, since phase-1 first began in April-2022. The daily average has been hovering around 1.60-1.70 lakh. Sources said that people are leaving the suburban local trains as well and taking the metro to escape the crowding, especially if the journey is between Dahisar and Andheri and/or it continues on VAG Metro-1 route.

While with 2430 daily passengers using Goregaon (W) on line-2A and 1887 passengers using Devipada on line-7; these two are the least used stations. The passenger count on line-2A is much higher than on line-7.

“Now that vacations are over and schools have reopened, we expect the peak ridership to cross 2-lakh passengers in a single day on the entire route. We believe that during rains, the traffic snarls on the road below on both Western Express Highway and Link Road, could be an important factor in pushing the usage of our metro rail lines of 2A and 7. There are certain stations like Gundavali and Andheri (W) that connect the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro line and so it is all the more popular,” explained an official from Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Ltd (MMMOCL).

Metro Line 2A and 7 experience high travel volume during the morning peak hours from 8:30 am to 11 am, and during the evening peak hours from 5 pm to 8:30 pm. To promote the use of metro transport, the MMRDA has set up parking facilities beneath metro stations for commuters, building 8 foot over bridges connecting east and west sides of the metro stations and offering last-mile connectivity via BEST bus services.