MMRDA changes decade-old Mumbai Metro master plan.

While the first Metro corridor recommended in the Mumbai Metro master plan 11 years ago rolled out in the city last month, the rest of the plan, which had originally envisaged the creation of a 146.5-km network by 2021, has undergone sweeping changes.

Proposals for a few Metro lines have been dropped, while a few others have been merged to finally create a concrete plan for three more Metro rail corridors at present – Colaba-Bandra-Seepz, Dahisar-Bandra-Mankhurd, and Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavali. These lines, along with the already commissioned 11.4-km Versova-Andheri Ghatkopar Metro, will create a network of 114.1 kilometres connecting the suburbs, island city, commercial hubs, major suburban railway stations and the airport.

The tendering process for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro has begun and the project is likely to be commissioned by 2020. The other two corridors are still on the drawing board. The master plan had originally designed most of the Metro connectivity as elevated and the rest underground. After difficulties in constructing the elevated Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar line, the state government decided to build all the three priority lines underground, despite the surge in cost.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS