Metro ops and maintenance: MMRDA staff to be trained in Singapore

With two Mumbai Metro lines slated to be operational in 2020, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has joined hands with the Singapore Mass

With two Mumbai Metro lines slated to be operational in 2020, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has joined hands with the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) Corporation to train 50 employees in operations and maintenance.

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Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri E) are expected to be operational by the end of 2020. SMRT is a multi-modal transport operator in Singapore. In November 2018, the MMRDA officials had visited Singapore and Hong Kong to study the operations.

RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said the memorandum of understanding between MMRDA and SMRT was signed last week. “We will send 50 employees in batches to Singapore. These will be master trainers who will, in turn, train the rest of the employees in Mumbai,” Rajeev said.

MMRDA is building a 32-storey Metro Bhavan in Aarey Colony, which will include a training centre, apart from the main operational control centre for all Metro corridors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

The MMRDA has also set up the Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL) to handle operations of all 14 corridors.

The organisation will also tie up with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Bengaluru’s ‘Namma Metro’ and the Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd, which runs the city’s first Metro line, Metro-1 (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) for training sessions. “There are two levels of training, one within the country and one international,” a senior official from MMRDA said. The official also said the training is likely to begin in June-July 2020.

The MMRDA was also looking at joining hands with the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in Hong Kong, which is considered to be one of the most profitable Metro systems in the world.

“We wanted to tie up with both SMRT and MTR, however, with the civil unrest in Hong Kong, we are only looking at SMRT for now,” the official said.