Work on track: MMRDA starts laying rail lines for Metro 2A, 7

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Monday said that track-laying for two Metro lines – Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) – has started on the Link Road and the Western Express Highway (WEH).

While track-laying for Metro-7 started on Sunday, work on Metro-2A had begun earlier in the week.

In a statement issued on Monday, MMRDA said, “In the wee hours of Sunday, we unloaded the first lot of Metro rails for the Dahisar East to Andheri East corridor near National Park station. The head-hardened HH1080 grade rails were imported from Japan. They were transported to the site from Wadala Yard using a 70-foot trailer. Thereafter, using a 50-tonne mobile crane, the rail bundles, each consisting three rails, were lifted and unloaded on the viaduct.”

Further explaining the process behind installation of Metro rail tracks, MMRDA officials said once placed on the viaduct, the rails will be welded a welding machine, which is also ready to be lifted on the viaduct for deployment.

The track-laying work is expected to be complete by March 2020, after which by mid-2020 trial runs are expected to start. The trial runs will take around six months to complete followed by which commercial operations on both corridors will start by end of 2020.

The two corridors, once operational, are expected to carry around 15 lakh passengers daily between Dahisar and Andheri