Mumbai's Metro train completes 7-km trial run

Mumbai city's first Metro rail trial on June 3 covered the entire first phase route of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor right up to the Airport Road Metro station. In this 7-km trial, citizens of Andheri got a glimpse of the steel-gray rake crossing the landmark cable-stayed bridge over the Western Express Highway as well as the 183-m steel bridge over suburban railway tracks.

Additional Metropolitan Commissioner at MMRDA SVR Srinivas said that it was a technical test. The ride was smooth. There were no bumps, and crossing the cable-stayed bridge was an excellent experience. He said the MMRDA is confident it will be able to open the corridor for public use by August-September next, he added.

He said that a few more technical tests need to be conducted on the first phase. Now the authorities are focusing on completing work on the second phase right up to Ghatkopar, Srinivas said. The second phase is expected to be commissioned by December. Metropolitan commissioner UPS Madan was present at the test run with officials from the Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One (MMOPL), the consortium constructing the 11.4-km corridor.