Mumbai Metro to start ferrying commutes from tomorrow

The first phase of the ambitious Mumbai Metro will finally start commercial operations from tomorrow with initial services on the 11.4 km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar stretch, after a delay of three years.

With plans to run trains every four minutes, the Metro will provide the much-needed relief to the commuters in the metropolis, where over 7 million commuters are dependent on overburdened suburban railways for everyday travel.

The services will start 5.30 a.m. and continue till midnight with a total of 16 rakes deployed on the sector, connecting posh Versova with the business and manufacturing areas of Ghatkopar with a total of 12 elevated stations en route.

The rakes with four coaches will have a capacity of around 375 commuters or around 1,500 commuters per service, will run at a speed of 80 kmph.

Mumbai Metro One has fixed a minimum fare of Rs10 and a maximum Rs40 for a one-way journey, chief executive Abhay Mishra said.

The Maharashtra government had earlier notified a fare band of Rs9-13, but the company demanded high fares, citing cost escalation in the three-phase project, work on which began nearly eight years ago.

Meanwhile, intense competition started among activists of the Nationalist Congress Party and Bharatiya Janata Party over claiming credit for the Mumai Metro.

NCP activists carried out a symbolic inauguration with a small pooja near Ghatkopar marking the start of Mumbai Metro while the BJP led by Kirit Somaiya and Gopal Shetty staged a road block agitation near Ghatkopar protesting the delays in starting the Metro Rail services.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan also expressed his strong reservation to the proposed hike in fares reportedly contemplated by RInfra, which has built the 11.40 km Metro Rail running east-west between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, at a cost of Rs4,300 crore.