Mumbai: ‘Constructing metro on coastal road not feasible’

Constructing a metro corridor on the proposed coastal road in Mumbai may cause more trouble, said officials involved in planning of metro projects.

Constructing a metro corridor on the proposed coastal road in Mumbai may cause more trouble, said officials involved in planning of metro projects.

Not only will it be impractical, but also lead to traffic congestion because of the connectivity problem, they said.

According to officials, a metro corridor is needed in areas where roads cannot be widened and public transport is not available to commuters.

“Places like London have underground metro lines built through congested areas so that they can be decongested,” said an official, who did not wish to be named. “But the coastal road will be a freeway and will be primarily used by cars. As it will pass through sparsely populated areas, there will not be enough commuters to use the metro corridor.”

Apart from that, people will need some form of transport to reach their houses or workplaces after alighting from the metro on the coastal road — which is called the last mile connectivity.

This will result in localised traffic congestion near metro stations, the official said.

Officials said the idea of having moving walkways to cover the last mile connectivity will not be a practical and feasible solution.

“As there will not be any direct road connectivity to metro stations, some people have suggested having underground travelators [moving walkway]. This will result in significant hike in the project cost,” said the official, adding that the high-speed bus service through dedicated bus lanes on the coastal road may be a cheaper and better option.

Transport expert AV Shenoy said the coastal road will be used by a small portion of the city’s population. “A metro line on the coastal road makes no sense. Instead, authorities should prioritise the second corridor [Dahisar-Bandra-Mankhurd], as it will help reduce traffic in the western suburbs,” he said.