South Mumbai Welcomes Metro: Successful Trial Run On City’s First Underground Corridor

In a major milestone for Mumbai's public transport system, a metro train successfully completed a pre-trial run earlier this week, marking its historic entry into the heart of the city.

The train travelled smoothly along the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz route (Metro 3), reaching Dadar station. The pre-trial run began at the Aarey metro station.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) is the project implementing authority of the 33.5 km long Metro Line 3.

Metro 3 stands as a crucial artery, catering primarily to commuters from south Mumbai, as all other corridors currently under construction are situated in the suburbs and other areas within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

S K Gupta, Director (Projects) of the MMRC, the city's metro network agency, expressed satisfaction as the first train reached Dadar metro station. He highlighted plans for increased train frequency not only up to Dadar but further south, extending till the Siddhivinayak Metro station in the coming days.

Dadar and Siddhivinayak stations are poised to open for commuters upon the completion of Phase II, which extends up to Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli. Phase I, spanning from Aarey to BKC, comprises 10 stations, while Phase II (BKC to Acharya Atre Chowk) features six stations.

The metro agency stated that trials are currently underway between Aarey and BKC stations, with potential extensions further south as construction progresses. Full-fledged trials for Phase II will commence once the Phase I corridor becomes operational.

Upon operationalisation up to Acharya Atre Chowk, the metro agency will shift its focus to Phase III, which extends up to Cuffe Parade, encompassing a total of 17 stations, reports Economic Times.

Asserting its readiness, the metro agency stated its capacity to operate over 260 services during Phase I operations between BKC and Aarey with 19 metro trains.

While earlier announcements had set deadlines for Phase I in April, Phase II in July, and Phase III by October, the progress of the trial run hints at potential delays. Commercial operations will kick off once safety certifications and approvals are secured.

In a first for India, the Metro 3 features an eight-car train with a 75 per cent motor for enhanced operational efficiency and movement. This contrasts with other metro lines, which typically utilise 50 per cent motors.

This unique feature is among the reasons prompting close scrutiny by authorities like the RDSO and CMRS during the trials before granting operational certification

First Underground Corridor

The 33.5-km long Metro-3 running along Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ is the first underground metro corridor of Mumbai.

It will connect the Cuffe Parade business district in the extreme south of the city to SEEPZ in the north-central area with 26 underground and one at-grade station.

With an estimated project cost of Rs 33,000 crore, the project has received funding from several entities, including Japan's technical and lending agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The first phase, connecting Aarey to BKC, is expected to commence operation in May, with the entire corridor to Cuffe Parade likely to open by September 2024.