Mumbai: Blue Line 1 upgraded to accept NCMC cards

Many of the Automatic Fare Collection gates on Blue Line 1 have handled 25 million transactions each

In a step that takes Mumbai closer to having a common transport card, similar to London's Oyster cards, the Metro Blue Line 1 has updated the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system to accept existing metro cards (closed-loop) and common mobility cards (NCMC open loop) through a single card reader. All AFC gates on the city's oldest Metro line will accept both cards, thus facilitating around 7,000 transactions daily.

The National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) can be used on multiple transport services across the country and even at outlets. The card is in use on the Mumbai Metro Yellow Line and Red Line 7, BEST buses, Airport Express line of Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Namma Metro and Ahmedabad Metro. The NCMC, an inter-operable transport card conceived by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was launched on March 4, 2019.

"The Mumbai Metro Blue Line 1 boasts 125 entry fare gates and 122 exit gates. A majority of these gates are situated at the two largest stations, Ghatkopar and Andheri. Ghatkopar Metro station features 27 AFC gates for entry and 27 for exit, while Andheri Metro station has 16 entry gates and 20 exit gates during peak hours. Many of these AFC gates, in operation for nearly a decade now, have handled more than 25 million transactions each," a spokesperson for the Metro Blue Line 1 said.

"Metro Blue Line 1, with a daily operation of 408 trips and catering to over 4.6 lakh commuters on weekdays, has successfully completed the upgrade of its AFC system.

It accepts NCMC cards issued by various banks on all fare gates. The gates have also been provided with upgraded QR scanners. Due to the overall upgrade, the throughput has now increased by more than 20 per cent," the spokesperson said.

Over the past nine years of operation, the Metro Blue Line 1 has served over 900 million commuters with a punctuality rate exceeding 99 per cent.

125
Entry fare gates on Blue Line 1

122
Exit fare gates on Blue Line 1