Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray to inaugurate 2 new Mumbai Metro lines on Apr 2; fares range from Rs 10 to Rs 50

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will inaugurate sections of two new Mumbai Metro lines on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Marathi New Year, on April 2, it was announced on Thursday, nearly eight years after the mass rapid transit system made its entry into the city.

Metro services on the first phase of Line 2A and also Line 7, both in western suburbs, will be thrown open for commuter use, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner SVR Srinivas said.

Metro Line 2A is between Dahanukarwadi and Dahisar, while Line 7 is between Aarey Colony and Dahisar.

Addressing a press conference at MMRDA headquarters in Bandra Kurla Complex here, Srinivas said the phase one of the two Metro lines will be opened for public use on the same day or next morning after inauguration of the 20.17-km-long corridors (their combined length), which have 18 stations.

The Metro services will be operated between 6 am and 10 pm.

Srinivas said the trains to be deployed on the elevated corridors are designed for driverless operations along with communication-based train control (CBTC) signalling systems. However, during initial phases, the trains will be manned by operators or attendants, including a few female pilots.

"The system will be upgraded to unmanned train operation (UTO) in the future," he said, adding though the sanctioned speed for the corridors is 80 kmph, initially the trains will be operated at 70 kmph.

The senior bureaucrat said that daily 150 services will be operated on these two lines with 11 rakes of six coaches each. Over 2,250 passengers can travel on a train at a time.

Srinivas said the minimum ticket for the Metro train ride is Rs 10, while the maximum is Rs 50 (rates will change after every 3km), but monthly pass facility won't be available initially on the new lines.

"Fares are reasonable," the MMRDA commissioner said, adding cycles can be carried on the Metro trains, but charges for them have not been decided yet.

He said the MMRDA has done multi-modal integration at the Metro stations and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking buses will be run as feeder services.

Highlighting that Line 2A and Line 7 have witnessed "negligible cost escalation", Srinivas said they have targeted to complete phase two of the corridors by August 15.

The financial capital is getting the new Metro corridors nearly eight years after the first line of the mass rapid transit system linking Varsova-Andheri-Ghatkopar was opened for commuters in June 2014.