MMRDA, MMRC mull merging Mumbai Metro Corridors

MMRDA, MMRC mull merging Mumbai Metro Corridors

Mumbai: Forget local trains, in the future you may be able to travel from Dahisar to Churchgate directly via Metro. The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) are considering integrating (merging) the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor and the Dahisar (East) to Andheri (East) Metro-7 corridor by constructing a common passageway for both the lines at the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) Metro station.

“This means now if any given commuter is travelling from Dahisar and wants to travel up to Churchgate or Colaba, he or she may be able to take Metro-7 from Dahisar and get down at airport Metro station. The commuter can, after that, using the interchange passageway get into Metro-3 underground corridor between the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ, which is being implemented by the MMRC,” said an MMRDA official.

“The initial plan for Metro-7 was up to Andheri (East) a Metro station for Andheri (East) near the Andheri railway station and the Metro-3 was to end at Seepz, but now we are considering to construct a common integrated platform at airport Metro station which means extending the Metro-7 up to Mumbai airport,” added MMRDA official.

This comes after the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), had earlier recommended to MMRDA in a detailed project report that Mumbai is the commercial capital of India with fast growth, especially in the suburbs. It therefore proposed to extend Metro-7 from Andheri (East) up to the Mumbai airport complex which will increase connectivity for commuters travelling from Dahisar to Colaba as the Metro-3 underground corridor constructed by MMRC will pass by the airport. DMRC is the interim consultant for the construction of Metro-7 corridor and the work will be executed by the MMRDA.

Meanwhile, Dilip Kawathkar, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “We are considering the plan of integrating the Metro-7 and Metro-3 corridors by making the airport Metro station the interchange station. It will help to decrease the traffic on roads in the city and also help the people who are currently travelling via local trains on from the western suburbs and travelling to South Mumbai.”

It is interesting to note that the airport Metro station is not the only planned interchange Metro station in the city. The DN Nagar Metro station of the Metro-1 corridor between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) will act as an interchange Metro station after Metro-2 corridor between Dahisar and DN Nagar and the Metro-2B corridor between DN Nagar-Mankhurd are constructed. The DN Nagar-Mankhurd Metro corridor is a part of the Metro-2 (Dahisar-Charkop—Bandra-Mankhurd), which was earlier planned underground, but was later turned into an elevated corridor. The line was also divided into three parts namely Dahisar-DN Nagar, DN Nagar-BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) and BKC-Mankhurd.

Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro-II corridor to be fully elevated: MMRDA

The 22-km stretch between DN Nagar in Andheri to Mankhurd on the 40km Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro-II corridor will be elevated and not underground, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided. This means the entire corridor will now be elevated.

The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) will build Phase 1 of the corridor—D N Nagar to Dahisar—at a cost of Rs 6,410 crore and Phase 2B—D N Nagar to Mankhurd—at a cost of Rs 15,000 crore.

“The draft report submitted by DMRC for the corridor between D N Nagar to Mankhurd has suggested an elevated path. It has also recommended that the corridor be extended by 1.3km at the Mankhurd-end up to Mandalay as the car shed is proposed there,” said Sanjay Sethi, additional metropolitan commissioner.

The Metro-II corridor had faced opposition from those living on Linking Road between Santacruz and Bandra who wanted it underground. But as the project cost was pegged at Rs 25,000 crore—three times costlier than an elevated corridor—MMRDA decided to build an elevated Metro-II. The Phase 2B corridor will pass along Linking Road to Mankhurd via Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). It will have an interlink facility in BKC, from where Metro-III underground corridor (Seepz-Ban-dra-Colaba) will criss-cross.

The DMRC has been roped in by the MMRDA to prepared a detailed project report for Metro-II corridor and a meeting between the officials of the two agencies to discuss the same is scheduled on December 30. “The detailed project report will have to be approved in the MMRDA meeting before it is placed before the cabinet. Thereafter, tenders for the work can be invited,” said another officer.

DMRC gets Rs.334 Crore for Metro project

In order to speed up the construction of the next phase of the Mumbai metro project, the Maharashtra state government has cleared a sum of Rs.334 crore as initial payment to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to implement the mega project, said state chief minister adding that the Mumbai metro rail has roped in DMRC in view of its expertise in executing metro projects. Though the amount is meant to meet the cost of a 2-km length of elevated road in Mumbai, but here it is the DMRC‘s fee as the implementing agency for the 18.5-km Dahisar-DN Nagar elevated Metro Rail corridor. The line will be the first phase of the proposed Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro where the DMRC will be in-charge of tendering out the project, finalizing contracts, supervising the work, and even coordinating with various agencies such as the Indian Railways for certification of the corridor once it is completed.