Mumbai: Metros may start rolling even if car sheds are not ready

A metro train at Andheri West station on Line 2A

The city's wait for more Metro lines won't be long now, top MMRDA officials have said. Mumbai Metro trains may run earlier than expected, if a thought the authorities are exploring works out. The authorities plan to use pit lines at end stations for maintenance so there won't be a need to wait for car sheds to get commissioned. This, despite the MMRDA saying they are trying to expedite works on various car sheds that are taking time for completion due to land acquisition delays and other complexities.

Works are underway on multiple metro corridors and procurement of car shed land for the corridors is in progress. The car sheds include Mogharpada (Green Line Metro 4), Kasheli (Orange Line Metro 5), Kanjurmarg (Pink Line Metro 6) and Uttan (Red Line Metro 9).

Nearly 70 per cent of the work of the Yellow Line 2 car shed at Mandale in Mankhurd, one of the biggest, is over

"Work on car sheds is being expedited where possible even as work on corridors is at an advanced stage. Once the work on corridors completes and after trials and all approvals are in place, we can start running them. We will explore if the maintenance part can initially be taken up in pit lines at end stations and operations can begin. It is just a thought now and we will need to study it," a top MMRDA official said.

The MMRDA is executing nearly 300 km of Metro projects in Mumbai and MMR, which is a complex task due to narrow roads, traffic congestion, utilities, slums, encroachments, nighttime work, etc. In addition, the MMRDA faces huge legal issues while executing mega projects, leading to cost escalation and time overruns.

A pit line at Charkop car shed for the Metro

The Yellow Line 2 car shed at Mandale in Mankhurd, one of the biggest ones, is already at an advanced stage of construction with nearly 70 per cent of the work over. This will service the entire Metro 2 line that is to operate between Dahisar East, Andheri, Bandra and Mankhurd. Sources said the idea of initial maintenance from pit lines may work well as the rakes that arrive will be new.

300 km
Length of Metro projects in Mumbai and MMR by MMRDA