Work on metro rail has begun and this is good news for Mumbaikar.

Metro Rail might change the way people travel in Mumbai. Hopefully, people will not travel dangerously and lean out of the running trains or travel fearlessly on the top of the trains.

According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad, “All the formalities regard the work have been completed and the cost of the Metro Rail project will be around Rs450 crores and it is expected to be operational by 2010.”

It is a Joint Venture Company formed by Reliance Energy Limited, a Reliance ADA Group Company, Veolia Transport, France and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

The eleven kilometer long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) corridor began on 8th February at the junction of Guru Hargovindji Road (Dhaku Road) and Andheri-Kurla Road near ICICI Bank. The initial activity comprising trial pits and pile load tests was started in an area of about 250sq. mts on the side of the main road to avoid any disturbance to the traffic.



Phase One of the ambitious plan includes building three metro lines: Colaba to Charkop, Versova to Ghatkopar and Bandra to Mankhurd.. The first corridor will be completed within three years by a special purpose vehicle formed by Mumbai Metro-I consortium. The other corridors in the first phase include 38 km Colaba-Mahim-Charkop route and 14 km Bandra-Kurla-Mankhurd route.

Eleven of the 36 fully air-conditioned stations will be underground. Initially, four-car, air-conditioned trains that can accommodate 1,500 passengers will run on the line—one train every four minutes. The cost will be shared by the Central and state governments.

Source: http://www.mumbaimetro1.com/