The announcement by the BMC to close Andheri’s Gokhale bridge, a crucial east-west connector, has commuters bracing for excruciatingly painful traffic snarls from Monday. Anticipating that about 20,000 road users will spill onto its Blue Line 1, the operator of Ghatkopar-Versova Metro line said on Friday that it will keep one train on standby to take on the extra load. But citizens and experts said this won’t be of much help. 

Mumbai Metro One is prepared to accommodate additional commuters due to the closure of Gokhale bridge. We anticipate the ridership to increase by around 20,000 per day. We also keep a train on standby and will introduce services, if we come across any increase in footfalls at the stations. We had successfully accommodated additional commuters when the bridge was closed in July 2018,” said a spokesperson for Mumbai Metro One Private Limited that runs the Ghatkopar-Versova Metro line.