Mumbai: 'Chhota Metro' gets thumbs down from commuter body

TMC has planned ‘Chhota Metro’ and Metro Neo to act as feeder routes for Metro and local train services. Representation pic

The Thane civic body's proposed ‘Chhota Metro' or MetroLite for the city and its surrounding areas will be an overlap between existing mass transit projects and will be a waste of resources, says Thane's rail passenger body.

Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh has written to the Union government, urging it to rethink the MetroLite and Metro Neo projects.

"The Kalwa Airoli rail link is already in the works. It has been delayed, but work is in process. The Thane-Wadala Metro Line 4 is also being completed rapidly. We do not see any reason for more digging and more Metros. It will be a duplication. Instead, authorities should finish what they have started," Siddhesh Desai, vice-president of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh said.

Emphasising its deep understanding of local train issues, the commuter body said it has been working with the railways in Mumbai for the past 22 years and has an ear to the ground thanks to its countless volunteers.

"As per data available, Kalwa and Diva are the most railway accident-prone areas on CR due to paucity of adequate public transport. To alleviate the problem, the government has already sanctioned the Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3, which will build a link between the trans-harbour and the mainline between Kalwa and Airoli and work has been on. The newer modes of transit now proposed like Metro Neo and Metro Lite will not serve much purpose, but help a handful of builders and lead to duplication," the association said.

"Once the Airoli-Kalwa link is up and running, most of the load from Thane station will be relieved, nullifying the requirement of such modes," Desai added. Thane Municipal Corporation officials said that the proposed modes of transit are a part of their long-term planning and have been worked out as per Centre's guidelines.

Rs 7,165cr
Cost of building the Chhota Metro