The much awaited Mumbai Metro was finally flagged off with great fanfare.
India’s financial hub – Mumbai city – finally saw its first metro line function in a full fledged form. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan, inaugurated the first metro service from Versova station in Mumbai on June 8, 2014.
The Chief Minister launched the service along with ADAG(Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) Chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani at 10:10 am IST.
The launch event was also attended by State Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with local MPs Poonam Mahajan, Kirti Somaiya and Gajanan Kirtikar. With this recent launch, Mumbai has become the fourth city in India to have a metro rail service apart from Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi.
With the arrival of the new metro line, travel time across the 11.4 km route of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar stretch will reduce to 20 minutes which otherwise took an approximate of 90 minutes via road transport.
The new metro service in the city is expected to provide great relief to commuters who travel by the overburdened suburban railways everyday.
Chief Minister Chavan after the launch said, “This project was conceptualised in 2006. It had faced several challenges during execution mainly because it is an elevated corridor. It definitely has taken time, but finally we have launched the services. This project is important for a populated city like Mumbai.”
The teeming metropolis of Mumbai has an decaying public transport infrastructure reeling under the burdens of overcrowding, poor maintenance and outdated technology. The new metro line in the city marks the first step towards improving the city’s public transport system.
Photo Credits: Business Standard
