Putting commute on the right track: Maharashtra nod for three more Metro lines

Before the code of conduct for the Maharashtra Assembly elections sets in, the state cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to three more Metro lines – Metro 10 (Gaimukh-Shivaji Chowk), Metro 11 (Wadala-General Post Office) and Metro-12 (Kalyan-Taloja) – adding 50km more to the 276-km Metro corridor planned across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Currently, six Metro corridors are under construction in the city.

RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “All three lines are crucial to ensure seamless travel. The Wadala to GPO line will make it easier for people from Thane to reach south Mumbai, similarly the Kalyan-Taloja line is a crucial connector to Navi Mumbai. Line 10 will complete an entire loop.”

Metro 10, a 11-km corridor that will connect Thane to Mira Road, is estimated to cost Rs 4,476 crore, while Metro 12, a 20.7-km corridor between Kalyan and Taloja, will be built at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore. These are two major corridors for the MMR, apart from line 5 that will connect Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan.

Metro 11 from Wadala is an extension to the under-construction line 4 (Wadala-Kasarvadali). Eight stations on this route, which falls under the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), will be built underground, taking the entire cost of the project to Rs 11,000 crore.

With this, the authority has got state approvals for all lines, except Metro 8 (Airport-Navi Mumbai airport), Metro 13 (Shivaji Chowk -Virar) and Metro 14 (Kanjurmarg-Badlapur).

Meanwhile, the state government on Tuesday also decided to allocate 21.91 hectares for the Hinjewadi-Shivaji Nagar Metro project in Pune. The land comes in as a substitute for the Rs 812 crore that the state was to pay to the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) as viability gap fund. The total cost of the project is Rs 8,312 crore.