JOIN USOn the occasion of Maharashtra Day, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday flagged-off the trial of the state’s first metro railway between Versova and Azad Nagar, a three-km stretch in western Mumbai coast-line.
Complimenting the efforts of all workers, technicians, engineers and officials working on the Mumbai Metro, labelled as one of the state’s showpiece infrastructure projects, the Chief Minister promised Mumbaikars that the state’s first metro railway from Versova to Airport Road will begin in September.
"And the next stretch on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro Railway – the Airport Road-Ghatkopar stretch will be commissioned in December this year, " he told the media.
Safety certificate
Chavan said trials will continue till Commissioner, Railway Safety gives safety certification for the project.
Referring to other projects, Chavan said that the complete underground Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro corridor and the Ghatkopar-Thane Metro corridor, along with other mega projects, are expected to begin this year.
“The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will inaugurate projects like Mono Rail, Eastern Express Freeway Project, the Sahar Elevated Road, Milan Rail Overbridge, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and a flyover at Amar Mahal Junction in Chembur,” Chavan said.
Mumbai Metro’s first phase connecting Versova-Ghatkopar is being constructed at a cost of Rs 2356 crore by a Reliance Infrastructure Ltd led consortium on behalf of the MMRDA.
The state government has given ‘in-principle’ backing to the massive Rs 23,000 crore elevated railway corridor between Churchgate-Virar which would eliminate the sub-human commuting experienced by Mumbaikars.