It is true that Mumbai has always been a step ahead of other cities in India. Soon after the inauguration of Delhi Metro in 2002, Mumbai was obviously next in line to receive the benefits of the Metro. Many were confused as to why Mumbai needed a metro line because Mumbai is famous for its local trains which are always flooded with people all the time. Well, this is the obvious reason behind a metro line in Mumbai which is indeed a gift to the Mumbai cars.
The traffic is now divided into the local trains and the metro. Not just the locals are less flooded with heavy population riding it; people now have a choice to opt for a rather comfortable and air-conditioned option which is a metro. Believe it or not, metro is indeed a blessing. Let us know more about the history of Metro in the megacity of Mumbai.
- The idea of Mumbai Metro was brought forward by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). In 2004 the MMRDA introduced a 146.5 km of metro line plans.
- The work on phase 1 of the Mumbai metro began in 2009 but it took unusually longer than expected time to build.
- However, due to various environmental and land recruitment issues, only one phase of the entire plan has been brought into existence for now.
- The first phase which was inaugurated is the 11.4-kilometer long metro line between Versova and Ghatkopar via Andheri which comprises of 12 metro stations in total.
- The first metro phase was initiated in 2014.
- However, it was only much later in 2015 that the rest of the 118 Km master plan has been approved and the work on the respective metro rail has been working since then.
- The entire metro master plan in Mumbai is being built by the Reliance infrastructure company.
If you compare building of metro in Mumbai and any other cities, progress in Mumbai has been unusually slower than any other cities. It is due to the fact that railways in Mumbai did not approve the plans which caused a delay in deadlines. Moreover, the lack of available free land space has been causing a lot of trouble to the execution of Mumbai Metro. We do hope that the Mumbai Metro takes up its pace and the Mumbaikars are offered a fully fledged, covering the entire city metro tracks which is safer, convenient and comfortable.