Mumbai Metro services on lines 2A & 7 to commence in January 2022
Presently, Mumbai Metro project stands at 80% completion
Trials of the Mumbai Metro Lines 2A and 7, between Dahisar-Charkop and Dahisar (East)-Aarey Station, respectively, are set to be reviewed by the RDSO soon. Reportedly, the research and safety wing of the railways will visit the trial sites by the next week. The MMRDA Commissioner SVR Srinivas has informed that the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will inspect the Phase-I of both lines, as per protocol.
This procedure further lists down the RSDO approval of the rakes, tracks and other parameters during the trial period. Once the organisation waves off the green flag, the CRS can work on the final clearances. As per report, a 16.4 hectares-wide maintenance depot has been set up in Charkop for the stabling and maintenance of the trains. This will be used as common depot for the two metro corridors, 2A and 7, intersecting at Dahisar.
Presently, about 80% of civil construction work has been completed on the tow lines, however, the roads are out of condition. This, reportedly, has mounted several bottlenecks on the Western Express Highway and Link Road over the past few weeks. The construction work at metro stations is also adding to the congestion. As informed by an MMRDA official, the installation of staircases and elevators is currently underway here.
Metro convenience to reduce traffic on Mumbai roads & locals
While the MMRDA has started the first phase trials on the Metro-7 route in July, the mock drills are now being run on phase-1 of corridor 2-A as well. The two lines are collectively expected to shoulder about 12% of the traffic commuting via the Western Railways (WR) in Mumbai.
Additionally, around 25% of motorists travelling on the Western Express Highway will also be diverted to the metro convenience. This approximately logs in a footfall of about 37 lakh WR travellers (as per pre-pandemic figure), and around 4.4 lakh commuters on the two corridors.
