The Metro lines 7 and 2A will now begin services in January 2022, instead of October 2021. The commencement of commercial operations will miss the earlier deadline and begin next year, according to a report in Times of India.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had flagged off trial runs for Metro line 7 (Aarey to Dahisar), running along Link Road and Western Express Highway, on May 31. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority began trial runs on Metro line 2A between Charkop and Dahisar this week, as reported by ToI.
Both Metro lines will slash current travel time of 75 to 90 minutes to barely 25 minutes and are expected to notch a daily ridership of over 6,00,000 in a decade, besides helping decongest road traffic.
In the ToI report, metropolitan commissioner SVR Srinivas was quoted as saying, “A team from Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO, Lucknow; functions as technical adviser and consultant to the railways) will begin inspections next week. The commissioner of railway safety (CRS) can begin his inspection of line 7 in October.”
The MMRDA will begin commercial operations on both corridors with 10 trains, of which two have arrived, Srinivas said in the report.
The MMRDA had earlier set a deadline of December 2019 to commence services but the Covid-19 pandemic caused major delays and work came to a standstill due to the migrant exodus.
Line 2A, running from Dahisar to DN Nagar, is fully elevated for 18.6 km with 17 stations being built at a cost of around Rs 6,400 crore, while Line 7, from Dahisar (East) to Andheri, is fully elevated for 16.5 kms with 13 stations, being constructed at a cost of around Rs 6,200 crore.
Mumbai is currently served by a single East-West 11.4-km Mumbai Metro 1 line (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) inaugurated in June 2014.
(With agency inputs)
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