The Rs 231.4bn ($US 3.2bn) project had threatened to go off track following huge protests by environmental activists and residents over the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s decision to allow the felling of 2700 trees in the Aaray Milk Colony to construct a depot last month. Aaray is described as an “unclassified forest area” and an eco-sensitive zone.
A stay was imposed on the felling of trees following a directive by the Supreme Court, but Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) officials admitted that the trees requiring removal had already been felled before the court order came.
“The controversies notwithstanding, we succeeded in achieving 23 breakthroughs totalling 38.25km out of the total identified tunnelling work of 55km within 24 months,” MMRCL managing director, Mr Ashwini Bhide, told IRJ. Nine more breakthroughs are targeted for completion within the next 12 months.
Of the overall tunnelling work on Line 3, the best progress has been achieved in Package-7 (Marol Naka - Aaray) with 97% complete, while 86% of tunnelling has been completed in Package-2 (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (CST) - Grant Road).
The Line 3 project is being supported by an Rs 132.4bn loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). The line will connect Mumbai’s international airport with the business centres of Nariman Point and the Bandra-Kurla complex, with stations at Cuffe Parade, Vidhan Bhawan, Churchgate, CST, Mahalaxmi, Dharavi, Worli and Science Museum.
June 2021 has been fixed as the completion date of phase 1 from Aaray to Bandra-Kurla complex, while Phase 2 (Bandra-Kurla - Cuffe Parade) is targeted for completion in December 2021. The line is anticipated to have a daily ridership of 1.7 million.
The exterior and interior design of the fleet of Alstom Metropolis trains for Line 3 were unveiled on August 16. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) awarded Alstom a contract to supply 31 eight-car driverless trains in July 2018.
Mumbai has been witnessing hectic metro construction activity with 337.1km of work on six lines costing Rs 1.4 trillion now underway. Another nine lines are proposed.
In addition, Milan Metro has been tasked to conduct feasibility studies for the construction of two more lines to improve connectivity between Mumbai and the proposed international airport in New Mumbai. The two lines - Line 13 from Shivaji Chowk to Virar and Line 14 from Kanjurmarg to Badlapur - are proposed using a pubic-private partnership (PPP) model.
For detailed information on metro projects around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
