30.5.21

Mumbai: Test run for two elevated metro lines tomorrow

If all goes according to the plan, more than 10 per cent of local commuters of the Andheri-Dahisar stretch will start using metro rail by early next year.

According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, a trial run of the first phase of metro line 2 A will start from Monday. The line will be made fully operational by January 2022. “Overhead electrification work on these two metro lines (2 & 7) has already been completed. Phase 1 trial runs of 20km stretch between Dhanukarwadi and Aarey Metro station will start from Monday,” said R A Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.

“The Metro lines 2 A and 7 will be made operational in a phased manner. The commercial run of phase 1 between Dhanukarwadi and Aarey will begin in October this year, and by January 2022, entire metro lines of 2A and 7 will be made operational in phase 2. Once commercial run on both lines starts, more than 10 per cent load of local trains of Andheri-Dahisar stretch will shift to metro,” said a senior officer of MMRDA.

“Andheri-Dahisar is one of the busiest stretches of the suburban section of WR. Metro line 2 A and metro line 7 will reduce a load of local trains in this stretch,” said Shailesh Goyal, former National Railway Users’ Consultative Council member.

Metro Line 2A from Dahisar to D N Nagar is an 18.58 km long elevated corridor with 17 stations. It will provide interconnectivity among the existing Western Express Highway, Western Railway, metro line 1 (Ghatkopar to Versova), metro line 2B (D N Nagar to Mandale), and metro line 7 (Andheri East to Dahisar East and the proposed metro line 6 at different locations.

Similarly, metro line 7 (16.47 km long elevated corridor) will provide interconnectivity among the existing Western Express Highway, Western Railway, metro line 1 (Ghatkopar to Versova), the ongoing metro line 2A (Dahisar to D N Nagar) and the proposed metro line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli). It will also provide rail-based access to the Mumbai International Airport, SEEPZ, National Park and other commercial and geographical landmarks.

According to MMRDA, it will reduce the current travel time by more than 50 per cent.

According to MMRDA, on average, the expected daily ridership in the normal condition of metro line 7 is around five lakh.

Similarly, metro line 2 A is expecting a daily ridership of around four lakh.

The fares of metro 2A and 7 will be cheaper than those of metro 1 running between Versova and Ghatkopar. It will be Rs 10 for the first 3 km, Rs 20 for 3-12 km and Rs 30 for 12-37 km.

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