The Metro will provide the crucial east to west connectivity and will carry around six lakh commuters per day. (File photo)
After inordinate delays, the Mumbai Metro will be thrown open to the public tomorrow. The Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro Corridor had received the final safety clearance from the Railway Board earlier this week, paving the way for it to be opened to the public.
The Metro will provide the crucial east to west connectivity and will carry around six lakh commuters per day. The biggest advantage would be the substantial reduction in travel time from the current 90 minutes to about 20 minutes along with much improved and comfortable traveling experience. The Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route will have AC trains with automatic door closing system.
The frequency of trains will be 3.5 minutes, going down to 3 minutes during peak hours. Each train will have four coaches but all the stations are designed to accommodate six coach trains anticipating increase in the traffic in future.
The Metro will be connected to Andheri station on the Western Railway suburban line and Ghatkopar on Central Railway suburban line. Western Railway and Central Railway run local trains which is the lifeline of the city. While all three existing lines (of local train services) run on the north - south corridor, the Metro will connect the eastern and western suburbs of Versova and Ghakopar. The Metro Corridor will have 12 stations.
The state government had notified a minimum fare of Rs 9 and the maximum of Rs 13 in the initial year of operations. However, RInfra has been seeking a steep revision in fares with minimum Rs 22 and maximum Rs 33, citing a near-doubling of its cost to which the state has objected.