To improve connectivity between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the Navi Mumbai International Airport, the Maharashtra government, through CIDCO, has planned the Metro Line 8 corridor. The project will, for the first time, establish an internal and continuous metro network connecting multiple suburbs across Navi Mumbai.

According to the detailed project report and finalised alignment, 11 stations of Metro Line 8 will fall within Navi Mumbai limits. After receiving state-level approval, the intra-city alignment has now been locked in. Once the metro crosses the Vashi Creek bridge from Mankhurd, it will run along the Sion–Panvel Highway before turning inward towards Nerul, Seawoods and Ulwe, eventually terminating at the Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The state government has recently incorporated Metro Line 8 into the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s 337-kilometre regional metro masterplan. While the corridor was initially proposed as a joint venture between MMRDA and CIDCO, it will now be executed entirely by CIDCO under a public-private partnership model.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Navi Mumbai International Airport, with the first commercial flight scheduled for December 25. Metro Line 8 is expected to play a critical role in providing seamless airport-to-airport connectivity once operational.

Within Navi Mumbai, the corridor will include stations at Vashi, Sanpada, Juinagar, Nerul Sector-1, Nerul, Seawoods, Belapur, Sagar Sangam, Targhar or Moha, NMIA West, and NMIA Terminal 2. The final two stations will be located within the airport campus.

After entering Navi Mumbai from Mankhurd, the metro will pass through Vashi, Sanpada and Juinagar along the Sion–Panvel Highway. From LP Junction in Nerul, the alignment will turn inward, with a major station planned near Dr D.Y. Patil University. The route will then pass through inner Nerul and Seawoods, including a station near Wonders Park, before heading towards Ulwe via Apollo Hospital and behind the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters.

Stations at Sagar Sangam and Targhar or Moha are expected to serve the rapidly developing Ulwe node. From there, the line will enter the airport campus, with stops at NMIA West and NMIA Terminal 2.

A CIDCO official said the agency has been entrusted with developing the strategic airport-to-airport metro link, adding that the detailed project report and financial planning have been completed and the proposal has been submitted to the state government for cabinet approval.