Staying on Track: Metro Updates

Mumbai

Maharashtra’s state cabinet approved three new metro corridors last week. Out of these, two will be for the Mumbai Metropolitan Area (i.e. Mumbai and surrounding satellite towns), and one will serve commuters travelling from Wadala towards the General Post Office (GPO) in South Mumbai. Once complete, the new lines will add 50 kilometres to Mumbai’s existing metro network. A brief look at the corridors:

• Gaimukh to Shivaji Chowk (Metro-10, 11km) Five stations, including Gaimukh, Gaimukh Retibunder, Versova Chaarphata, Kashi-Mira and Shivaji Chowk in Thane.
• Wadala to GPO (Metro-11, 14km) Elevated stations will be at Wadala RTO, Ganesh Nagar, BPT Hospital, while underground stations will cover Sewri Metro, Hay Bunder, Coal Bunder, Darukhana, Wadi Bunder, Clock Tower, Carnac Bunder and the CSMT Metro station.

• Kalyan to Taloja (Metro-12, 25km) Eighteen stations, including APMC Kalyan, Ganesh Nagar, Pisawali Gaon, Golwali, Dombivli MIDC, Sagaon, Sonarpada, Manpada, Hadutane, Kolegaon, Niljegaon, Wadavali, Bale, Vaklan, Turbhe, Pisawe Depot, Pisawe and Taloja.

New Delhi

Trial runs are underway for the Dwarka-Najafgarh metro corridor. The 4.2kilometre-stretch has three stations, namely Dwarka, Nangli (both elevated) and Najafgarh (underground). The DMRC expects to complete the line by September 2019. Times Now News reports that the corridor will be further extended 1.18 kilometres till Dhansa Stand, which is slated for completion by December 2020. 

New Delhi currently has eight metro lines, with a daily ridership of 2.54 million in 2017–18. Counting its transfer stations only once, 227 stations service commuters every day. The DMRC has also shown a relatively eco-friendly tilt, as it began powering its Pink Line using a waste-to-energy plant this year. 

Bengaluru

The IT capital has a slew of updates in connection to its metro rail network, known as the Namma Metro. An overview:

• The city has a suburban rail project in the works. Currently in the design stage, it’s likely to be integrated with at least 10 metro stations. The Economic Times notes that “in the revised detailed project report (DPR), the length and number of suburban stations have been reduced to avoid overlap of the two rapid transit systems.”

• A common mobility card for commuters may be piloted in late August or early September this year. The interoperable card can also be used for buses. Separate entry and exit gates will be installed to use this card at stations, as existing systems can only handle tickets and metro smart cards. 

• Bettahalasur, a census town, is a new metro station that has received approval. It’s located between Bagalur Cross and Trumpet Junction, on the Airport Metro Line. The originally-planned Kasturi Nagar and Channasandra metro stations will be combined into a single station.
• Here's something a little different: unsure of what to do with the bounty of items that commuters leave behind, the BMRCL held a bulk-sale auction where visitors could bid on unclaimed knick knacks. Items like umbrellas, electronics, clothing and lunch boxes were up for grabs!