The Mumbai Metro

Work on the first phase of the Mumbai Metro is on. The road in front of the 7 Bungalows bus terminus and the line of little eating places like Pop Tates etc. is all dug up.

The Mumbai Metro project contract for the first phase was won by a Consortium led by Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. This project is being executed by REL and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). A French company Connex and the Hong Kong MRT are the other members of the consortium and they are providing the technical know how.

The first phase is going to cover the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor and will cover a distance of 11 kms. This work is planned to be completed by 2009. This route will have 12 stations - Versova, D.N. Nagar, Azad Nagar, Andheri, Western Express Highway, Chakala, Airport, Marol Naka, Saki Naka, Subhash Nagar, Asalpha Road and Ghatkopar. The commuting time between Versova and Ghatkopar will be 21 minutes. Today the commuting time between these two points is at least 70 minutes.

The second line will connect Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra and bids for this line have already been invited. The third line of the project connecting Cobaba to Mahim is expected to be totally underground.

Mumbai may be the first Indian city to have a single fare structure for transport. Globally, cities like London, New York and Singapore already have such a system in operation. The authorities plan to create a sub-system for road, rail, waterways, and air transportation, which will include rail network, parking lots, private and public modes of transport. The single fare structure will make traveling in the city a bit convenient as commuters would not need to buy separate tickets for different modes of transport.