Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan inaugurates Mumbai Metro

Mangaloretoday.com/IT

Mumbai, June 09: After missing 10 deadlines and running three years behind schedule, the much-awaited Mumbai Metro One was thrown open to Mumbaikars with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan inaugurating the project on Sunday.

Reliance Industries head Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani were amongst the early riders.

 

The launch of metro services will revolutionise the commutation of Mumbaikars, Chavan said after the launch.

With this service, the journey on the 11.4 km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar stretch will reduce to 20 minutes which otherwise takes around 90 minutes at present by road transport.

The launch of the metro services was, however, not without controversy as Chavan had on Saturday said that he will inaugurate the services only if MMOPL (Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd) adheres to the state government-notified fares. But, later on he agreed to flag-off the service.

Admitting that there was a dispute over the fares, Chavan expressed the hope that the issue will be resolved through court.

MMOPL Director Debashish Mohanty had on Saturday said they would go ahead with the launch of the service even if the Chief Minister does not come for the inauguration.

The phase-1 of the Mumbai metro, a joint venture between Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), Anil Ambani-led Reliance Energy and Veolia Transport of France, promises to cater to lakhs of commuters per day on the 11-km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route. The Mumbai Metro One was built at a cost of Rs.4,500 crore.

The Mumbai metro has assured trains would run with a frequency of 3.30 seconds at each of 12 stations, taking about 21 minutes to ferry commuters from Ghatkopar on the eastern side to Versova on the western part of the city. At present, during peak hours it takes about 70 minutes to cover the distance by road.

This would be a vital service as it would augment the flow of traffic between east and west Mumbai which are currently serviced by few road and rail links.


Besides, those living along the Metro line hope to breathe a little fresh air as the stretch, which till now is one of the worst polluted regions of Mumbai, would have comparatively less road traffic.

With each train carrying approximately 1,500 persons, the Metro hopes to eventually ferry 11 lakh passengers per day, a mere 14.6 per cent of the 75 lakh commuters the entire suburban rail network of Mumbai carries on a daily basis.

Observers said the Metro One’s ability to attract commuters would depend on its fare structure. Reliance Energy was eager to raise the fare but the state government reportedly refused. Even as the fare dispute is resolved, the minimum fare has been fixed at Rs.10 and maximum at Rs.40.

The metro service comes four months after the city got the country’s first monorail between suburban Chembur and Wadala on February 1 this year.