Mumbai’s oldest Metro line hits ridership of 90 crore!

Metro Blue Line 1 was launched in 2014

Mumbai's oldest Metro line - Blue Line 1 - achieved a total ridership of 90 crore on Saturday, since its launch in 2014. It is officially the most densely populated Metro in India. Commuters said that it was now time to extend the coaches and make it into a six-car train.

"Surpassing one million commuters annually, Mumbai Metro One reached an impressive ridership of 900 million on December 2, 2023, within a span of a remarkable 8.9 years of operation. It took only 282 days for Mumbai Metro One to achieve a rapid 100 million ridership increase from 800 million to 900 million," a spokesperson said.

"Currently, Mumbai Metro One carries more than 4.6 lakh commuters on weekdays by operating 408 trips daily, with service frequency at approximately 3.5 minutes during peak hours and 8 minutes during off-peak hours," she added.

Regular commuters welcomed the move but also said that Metro One should try and increase coaches of existing trains from four to six so that the overall capacity can be increased. In fact, the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association has filed even an online petition in the public domain on Change.org demanding increasing coaches from four to six.

"Lakhs of commuters who are using the Mumbai Metro Line 1 are badly impacted by the overcrowding and poor travel experience due to decades-old capacity which hasn't been upgraded. If things don't change soon this can lead to personal injuries and a stampede like situation for commuters. Line 1 is the only Metro line connecting East and West Mumbai. As Line 2A and 7 from the surrounding areas of North Mumbai Dahisar to Andheri are feeding more commuters into Line 1 now, there is a need for urgent action as the ridership has crossed four lakh and it would be prudent to increase coaches to six," Dhaval Shah, co-founder of Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association, who started the petition said.

Key achievements of Mumbai Metro One

. Shortening the link to Andheri Railway Station, boosting Andheri Metro Station ridership by 20%.
. Launching Mobile QR ticketing on Nov 17, 2017, enhancing commuter convenience.
. Installing 2.30 MW capacity solar panels across all 12 Metro stations and 2,000 rooftop panels at the Metro Depot.
. Developing a metro-specific CRM system for improved commuter convenience.
. Introducing the innovative Paper QR Ticket on Jan 16, 2020, in order to combat the spread of COVID-19.