Mumbai's 1st underground Metro corridor opens; public hopes it will reduce commuting woes

Mumbai: Mumbai's first underground Metro corridor, the aqua line's phase-1, stretching from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey became operational for the public on Monday morning.

A large number of people came to experience the ride on the first day of the BKC to Aarey stretch of Mumbai Metro Line 3 as the service commenced at 11 am, amid cheers from passengers.

Many people, excited about the first day travel, arrived at stations before the Metro operation commenced to buy tickets and expressed hope the new service would reduce their commuting challenges.

Some people also complained of safety door glitches and the entry-exit points being closed at a few stations on the first day of the operation, while some passengers demanded an integrated app for all Metro services in the city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 12.69 km long phase-1 of the BKC to Aarey stretch of Mumbai Metro Line 3.

He travelled from BKC to Santacruz and back during which he interacted with students, beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin scheme and labourers involved in constructing the underground line.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing the 33.5-km-long Colaba-SEEPZ-Aarey JVLR project, has already notified that the regular operation of the Metro on the aqua line will commence from Tuesday.

As per the notification, services will be operated from 6.30 am to 10.30 pm between Monday and Saturday, and from 8.30 am to 10.30 pm on Sundays.

The minimum fare for a ride on the Metro line is Rs 10 and maximum Rs 50, as per the MMRC.

Passengers can book tickets using the NCMC (National Common Mobility Card), Mumbai Metro 3 mobile app, and ticket vending machines, among other means.

The corridor between BKC and Aarey road has 10 Metro stations - BKC, Bandra Colony, Santacruz metro, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) T1, Sahar Road, CSMIA T2, Marol Naka, Andheri, SEEPZ, Aarey Colony JVLR. Of these, only Aarey JVLR station is at a grade while all others are underground.

The aqua line is the fourth Metro corridor of Mumbai.

The Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova Metro Line-1, Andheri West-Dahisar Line-2A and Andheri East-Dahisar Line-7 are already operational in the city.

Mumbai resident Ankush Nevre, who works at the Andheri MIDC, said the new service will be very helpful to reach BKC from there.

"I was waiting for this connection for quite some time. I managed to get the first train to BKC at 11.10 am at the MIDC (Andheri). The service will be good (for the people), but there is a need for more signages and boards (for better access to Metro services)," Nevre said.

A person claimed on his X account that an entry-exit point at CSMIA T1 was closed at around 1.30 pm.

Jyoti Trilok, who works at the Sahar Cargo Complex, got down at CSMIA T2 and said the station needs to have more entry and exit points.

Some passengers also expressed unhappiness over multiple apps for different Metro services in the city. They demanded a single app for accessing all the Metro services.

"Should have an integrated app to book tickets and plan journeys. Mumbaikars can't have 14 apps when all the lines are live. Integration and convenience should be there," X user J Vidyasagar said in his post.