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Will help in reducing Mumbaikars' travelling time

CENTRE'S SUPPORT: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, with Ms Kokilaben Ambani, wife of late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, and the Maharashtra Governor, Mr S.M. Krishna, at the inauguration of Mumbai Metro Rail Project on Wednesday. - Vivek Bendre

Mumbai , June 21

At an estimated frequency of a train every four minutes and covering a distance of 146.5 km, the Mumbai Metro Rail Project when completed is expected to reduce travelling time for the Mumbaikars.

And the Rs 19,525-crore project was flagged-off on Wednesday with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laying the foundation stone for the first phase — the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor at Godrej Lands in northeast Mumbai at a cost of Rs 2,356 crore.

The railway system at present provides North-South connectivity and the new 11.07-km-long corridor is expected to provide the much needed East-West connectivity.

The project comprises nine lines, of which 32.5 km would be underground and 114 km would be elevated rails. The first phase would be fully functional by 2011, second phase by 2016 and third phase by 2021.

Train's features

The train will have a carrying capacity of 60,000 persons per hour and the travel time between Versova to Ghatkopar will come down from 70 to 21 minutes. The proposed fare structure is Rs 6 up to 3 km, Rs 8 for 3-8 km and Rs 10 for over 8 km.

A consortium of companies led by Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has bagged the contract for the first phase along with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The MMRDA would also be the project implementing authority and it would be operated on a build-own-operate-transfer basis for 35 years.

The fully-elevated Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor would be executed by a special purpose vehicle formed by MMRDA and REL. The construction for the first phase would commence by October and it is likely to be completed by 2009-10.

The corridor will have 12 stations: Versova, D N Nagar, Azad Nagar, Andheri, Western Express Highway, Chakala, Airport, Marol Naka, Saki Naka, Subhash Nagar, Asalpha Road and Ghatkopar: locations that are not fully covered by the existing suburban railway.

The flagging-off ceremony was attended by the Maharashtra Governor, Mr S.M. Krishna, the Chief Minister Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, the Union Urban Development Minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, the Union Minister for Agriculture, Mr Sharad Pawar, and the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr R.R. Patil.

After all, the city authorities have a laid-out vision to become Shanghai some day and the metro rail project is just one step towards that plan.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Urban Development | Railways | Maharashtra

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