PM Modi takes ride on Mumbai Metro-3 till Santacruz Station
PM Modi takes ride on
Mumbai Metro-3 till Santacruz Station
While inaugurating the Aarey-BKC stretch on Saturday, PM Modi also took a ride till Santacruz station and back, amidst which he interacted with students, beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government’s Ladki Bahin Yojana and labourers involved in constructing the underground line.
He unvield the MetroConnect3 app designed to enhance the travel experience for commuters and also unveiled a coffee table book containing spectacular photos of the underground metro journey.
PM was accompanied by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishanan, Union Minister Manohar Lal, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
The 12.69 kilometre stretch amid Aarey Colony and BKC is part of the 33.5 kilometre Colaba-Seepz-Aarey Metro Line 3, which received the final clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) earlier this week.
The corridor amid BKC and Aarey that the PM inaugurated amidst the day has 10 metro stations – BKC, Bandra Colony, Santacruz, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) T1, Sahar Road, CSMIA T 2, Marol Naka, Andheri, SEEPZ and Aarey Colony JVLR, the only station at grade.
The Aarey-BKC stretch provides connectivity to both Terminal 1 and 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as well as the Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova Metro Line 1 at Marol Naka station.
Once fully operational amid Aarey to Colaba in south Mumbai, Line-3 will cater to around 13 lakh passengers daily with train frequency of about 3-4 minutes. It will ferry approximately 2500 passengers in each rake of eight coaches. The estimated daily ridership in the first phase will be four lakh, as per the MMRC.
MMRC has planned 96 daily services between Aarey and BKC between 6.30 am to 10.30 pm. On Sundays, the first service will commence at 8.30 am. The minimum fare on the line will be Rs 10, while the maximum will be
Rs 50.
The operational speed on the line is 85 kilometres per hour (kmph), while the average running speed will be 35 kmph.
According to MMRC, as many as 6.5 lakh vehicular trips will be slashed due to the first phase of the Mumbai Metro Line 3, while the traffic on the roads on the stretch is expected to reduce by 35 per cent. Nearly 3.54 lakh litres of fuel is expected to be saved due to the line.
Last month, MMRC managing director Ashwani Bhide revealed that almost 93 per cent of the work on the corridor is complete, and the entire stretch amid Colaba and Aarey is likely to be commissioned by March or May 2025.
News Edit KV Raman
