Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde on Sunday said that efforts are underway to begin the trial run of the much-anticipated metro service in Thane next month, with full-fledged operations expected to commence by December this year, PTI reported.

Speaking to reporters after flagging off the Thane Varsha Marathon, Shinde said that the completion of the metro project would significantly enhance connectivity across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), offering end-to-end commute options and improved last-mile connectivity.

"Efforts are on to conduct the trial run of the Metro in Thane in September. After that, we are working on launching the actual services by December. The work is progressing on a war-footing," he said.