Two new Mumbai Metro corridors to be operational from Sunday

Mumbai: In a big relief for Mumbaikars, two new Metro corridors will finally be operational from April 3, albeit partially

Mumbai: In a big relief for Mumbaikars, two new Metro corridors will finally be operational from April 3, albeit partially. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Thursday said that the flagging off ceremony for Dahisar-Andheri Metro-2A and Metro-7 will take place on Saturday and the commercial operations will begin on Sunday.

For now, Metro services will be operated for 15 hours between 6 am to 9 pm. (VIJAY BATE/HT PHOTO)

For now, Metro services will be operated for 15 hours between 6 am to 9 pm. Although the rakes are equipped with a ‘driverless’ feature, for the next 7-8 months they will be operated by a driver.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will inaugurate sections of two new Mumbai Metro lines on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Marathi New Year, on April 2.

The first phase between Dahisar to Kandivali for Metro-2A and Dahisar to Aarey for Metro-7 will be thrown open to the public. According to MMRDA officials, the entire corridor will be operational by October.

“We will flag off the Metro services on Saturday and the services will start for the general public from Sunday. We operate 150 trips for 15 hours between 6 am to 9 pm. We have a capacity to carry around 3,00,000 to 3,50,000 commuters on daily basis but the footfall cannot be predicted right now,” said Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas of MMRDA.

According to MMRDA officials, the 20-km stretch known as phase-1 of Dahisar East-DN Nagar Metro-2A and Dahisar East to Andheri East Metro-7 corridor will function as a ring route.

There are 10 rakes currently and six rakes will be operational, maintaining a frequency of 11 minutes and a maximum speed limit of 70 kmph. Commuters will be required to buy token tickets for now, and monthly seasonal passes will be available after two months along with a ticket facility on the mobile application.

Srinivas added, “Though the train is driverless initially for 7-8 months we will have drivers and later we will take a review. We have around 60 pilots at the moment of which a majority are women.”

Commuters will be allowed to cycle their way to the Metro station without shelling out extra fare.

The current fare structure is ₹10 for every 3 km, meaning fares on the entire ring route opening on Sunday will be between ₹10 to ₹50.

Meanwhile, Srinivas who also took as managing director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) a week ago, said that the first train of the Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor is expected in the next few days.

“Currently, 12 to 18 months of work is pending to make the Metro-3 operational. This includes civil works, tracks, electrical works etc. Hence, even if we consider that the car depot anywhere in the city was ready we would still require this much time,” he added.