Direct access to Metro-3 stations from home, work may soon become reality

Imagine making your way to the nearest Metro station from your office or home via a walkway or subway. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) hopes to make this a

Imagine making your way to the nearest Metro station from your office or home via a walkway or subway. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) hopes to make this a reality, and is looking to collaborate with developers to enable direct access between residential/commercial complexes and underground Metro stations.

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Once completed, the Metro-3 corridor between Colaba and Seepz will connect six business districts, 30 educational institutes and both domestic and international airport terminals. The 33.5-km corridor is entirely underground with 27 stations.

According to MMRC officials, the organisation will facilitate the construction of walkway/subways to these stations, but the cost of construction and maintenance will be borne by the developers. Officials also said the agreement is a win-win situation as direct access to Metro stations will also increase value of the property.

Direct access is a worldwide practice to integrate public infrastructure and private development. It also eliminates the need for last-mile connectivity in those areas. Direct access has been adopted in Delhi, Bengaluru, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul. For instance, the Shinjuku Metro station in Tokyo is connected to the 130-hectare Shinjuku business district via a network of underground subways.

R Ramana, executive director, MMRC, said, “We are holding preliminary discussions with more than 20 developers as of now. These include societies, commercial complexes and hotels.”

Ramana also said the buildings being redeveloped by MMRC in Girgaum and Kalbadevi will have direct access to the station under the buildings. More than 700 families had to be vacated from the area in order to carry out Metro construction. These project-affected persons will be rehabilitated in three buildings – Kalbadevi Commercial Centre, Kalbadevi Heights and Girgaon Heights – which MMRC is currently building.

To beat the increasing congestion on Mumbai’s streets, authorities are also considering transit-oriented development that will enable the concentration of jobs and houses near the upcoming Metro stations.