Mumbai may flag-off the first, Made in India Metro on corridors 2-A and 7 by May 2021
Enabling rapid transport, 2 new metro lines to get operational in Mumbai
In a bid to boost high-connectivity in Mumbai, two new metro corridors will flag off operations by May, read reports. The metro carriages plying on these lines, 2-A and 7, will be the first indigenously developed carriages, being built at Bengaluru's Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). As per reports, the first metro-car has departed from Bengaluru on January 23 and set to arrive at Charkop depot in Mumbai, on January 27, the Minister informed.
A statement from the Officer of Urban Minister further highlighted that these India-made carriages are an economical resort, costing only ₹8 crores for each coach as opposed to foreign manufacturing's ₹10 crores. The local development agency, MMRDA has ordered BEML to provide Mumbai with 63 trains at the cost of ₹3,015 crores. As per reports, each coach will be able to carry 380 commuters. The Urban Development Minister has stated that though the metro will be equipped with driver-less, automated technology, it won't be augmented initially for public safety.
Metro Line 2-A and 7 are the second instalments of the rapid transport system in Mumbai, which received the Ghatkopar-Versova corridor in 2014. In a statement, the Urban Development Minister shared that in five years, Mumbai would be running a metro-network of 337 km. He pinned the general slow-down of March 2020 on the COVID pandemic outbreak but also highlighted that now civil construction is now in full swing.