Safety certificate for Mumbai metro corridor

The Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has issued a safety certificate to Mumbai’s first metro corridor a few days ago, clearing one of the major hurdles in its way.

The Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has issued a safety certificate to Mumbai’s first metro corridor a few days ago, clearing one of the major hurdles in its way.

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The next step would be a nod from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), after which it can be opened for public.

The RDSO, a Central government body, deals with the inspection of critical and safety items of civil structure, rail tracks, rolling stock, signalling and telecommunication equipment and oscillation trials. The metro corridor was being inspected by the organisation for the past one-and-a-half year.

UPS Madan, commissioner, MMRDA, said, “We have got the safety certificate. We hope to get the railway safety commissioner’s nod by September.”

Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), a special-purpose vehicle formed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Reliance Infra, is the nodal agency for the development of the 11.4km VersovaAndheri-Ghatkopar metro corridor.

Work on the VersovaAndheri-Ghatkopar corridor of the metro project had started in 2007, under the Tramways act.

The MMOPL will have to get the deviations in the civil and technical aspects of the project, which are against the Metro Railway Act, 2009, approved from the Indian Railways.

MMOPL had carried out the first trial on the 2km stretch between Versova and Azad Nagar metro station on May 1. The MMRDA plans to start the metro corridor in two phases.

The first phase -- 7 km stretch from Versova to Airport Road -- is likely to start in September, while the second phase up to Ghatkopar would be ready by early next year.