MMRDA begins pre-trials for Mumbai’s Metro trains

Close to a month after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray unveiled the first indigenously built Metro train for Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri-E), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) conducted pre-trials for the train at the Charkop depot before testing begins on the actual route in a month

Close to a month after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray unveiled the first indigenously built Metro train for Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri-E), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) conducted pre-trials for the train at the Charkop depot before testing begins on the actual route in a month.

An aerial view of the Mumbai Metro 2A at Kandivli, in Mumbai, on Thursday. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

However, the MMRDA said the trial runs are expected to be completed in the next four-five months, after which commercial operations will begin. Earlier, the MMRDA had stated that the trial runs will begin in January 2021 and commercial operations will begin in May 2021.

Officials said that dynamic testing is a procedure undertaken before actual testing begins. “The functionality of various systems will now be tested, which will take a month, after which connectivity to the main route and trial runs will begin. We expect the next train set also to arrive in March,” an official from MMRDA said.

The earliest deadline for the two corridors was December 2019. However, it has been delays owing to various issues, followed by the pandemic that slowed down major infrastructure projects in the city.