Metro 7A in Mumbai to get twin tunnels

According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials, of the 3.175km of Metro-7A, 2.195km is set to go underground.

After the fully underground Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3, the city is set to get another set of twin tunnels. This time for Metro-7A that will link Andheri (East) to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).

A picture of the Mumbai Metro which currently runs between Versova and Ghatkopar. (HT File)

According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials, of the 3.175km of Metro-7A, 2.195km is set to go underground.

The underground tunnels are likely to be built using the cut-and-cover method, where an entire road will be taken up for digging and reinstated after the underground work is completed.

“The line will be elevated from Andheri (East) till the airport colony. From there, it will be an underground stretch, with an underground station at CSIA,” said a senior official from MMRDA, requesting anonymity. The first elevated station on the line will be Airport Colony.

MMRDA has invited tenders for construction of Metro-7A and Metro-9 (Dahisar E-Mira Bhayander). The two corridors will be the north-south extension of the under-construction Metro-7 (Dahisar E- Andheri E). In September 2018, the Maharashtra cabinet gave an approval to the two extended corridors, which will be built at a cost of ₹6,518 crore. Metro-9 will be a 10.40-km elevated stretch with eight stations.
The corridors are expected to cater to 11 lakh citizens by
2031.

The metropolitan authority has also planned a line between CSIA and the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport, which is expected to be partially underground. With this, the airport will be linked to three Metro lines running across the city.