Metro 3 will take 2.5 more years to roll: MMRDA Commissioner SVR Srinivas

While some have been blaming the unresolved issue of car depot for the delay in completion of the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line 3, MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas, who also holds the charge of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, said it would take over two years to complete the project, excluding the depot. He said, "Some work related to tunnelling is to be completed along with the work of stations, electrification work, etc."

The plot in Kanjurmarg where the car depots of Metro 3 and 6 were supposed to come up

According to an MMRC press release, around 53 km of tunnelling work is complete, which is around 97 per cent of the total project. The car depot for Metro line 3 has been a major issue, with green activists opposing the plan to set it up at Aarey Milk Colony. The citizens, in turn, have blamed the activists for delaying the project through their protests seeking that the depot be moved elsewhere.

Work in progress at Kalbadevi for Metro line 3

Following the protests, the depots for both Metro line 3 and line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli) were then proposed to be shifted to Kanjurmarg, but the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has recently hinted that the depots will be shifted out of the plot owing to the deadlock between the state government and Centre over the ownership of the land. Sources told this newspaper that an alternative location for the car depots of both the lines have been identified and the authorities are working out on a plan.

97
Percentage of tunnelling work done for Metro 3