CM flags off first train from Aarey station; says Central government trying to create hurdles in state projects
Mumbai Metro. Graphic/Shailendra Mirgal
After inaugurating two Metro corridors in Mumbai on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accused the Central government of creating hurdles in implementing certain projects in the city. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, the Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet Train, Thackeray said that having a Mumbai-Nagpur bullet train corridor would have been a better option instead.
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Thackeray flagged off the first train of the Dahisar to Aarey Metro Line-7 route from Aarey Milk Colony Metro Station on Saturday. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray and other dignitaries were present at the event. None of the BJP leaders attended the function as they had boycotted the programme over the credit tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP for the project.
“We have never created any hurdles in projects that the Centre has implemented in Maharashtra, but they are creating obstacles for us, be it the proposed car depot land for Metro Line-3 in Kanjurmarg, the Mahul Pumping Station or acquiring railway land for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project,” he said.
Raising questions over the bullet train, he asked if people would benefit from it. “I feel that the best bullet train corridor would have been Mumbai to Nagpur.” There will be a total of 60 pilots on these new Metro lines, of which eight to 10 are women. At present, there are a total of 11 trains. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar appealed to Mumbaikars to keep the Metro clean. “We would like to appeal to people using the services to not litter in the train and maintain cleanliness at the station.”
The commercial operations of Dahisar to Dahanukar Wadi Metro Line 2A and Dahisar to Aarey Metro Line-7 started from 8 pm on Saturday. Day one saw huge crowds and chaos on both the lines, as passengers were allowed to travel for free. Later, many who had taken the train to Dahanukar Wadi learnt that there was no return trip scheduled for the day.
Passenger capacity
Passengers per train: 2,280
Seating per coach: 50
Train operation: Initially, 6 AM to 10 PM
Frequency: 11 minutes
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