Mumbai Metro almost complete but RInfra mum on timeframe

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

Despite several long delays, the Mumbai Metro project is very close to being completed and being commissioned, says Lalit Jalan, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure. Without giving an exact time frame, Jalan says majority of the work is complete.

"Although the Metro system has always been urgently needed for Mumbai, numerous challenges were encountered in its construction. There were frequent and substantial changes in project planning and timelines on account of uncontrollable factors such as a highly constrained Right of Way (RoW) which was handed over to us only in February 2012," says Jalan.

The crucial Western Express Highway Bridge has been completed, without any untoward incident and/or mishap despite heavy traffic flow of around 1,20,000 vehicles per day. AFP

According to him, in terms of civil structure, 99 percent of the Metro work has been completed. "The crucial Western Express Highway Bridge has been completed, without any untoward incident and/or mishap despite heavy traffic flow of around 1,20,000 vehicles per day," he says. This bridge is Asia's highest cable-stayed bridge for a Metro rail and the second highest in the world.

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Elaborating on the work done, Jalan says the critical construction of the railway overbridge over the Western Railway near Andheri has also been completed and almost 95 percent of track laying has been done. The major part of the car shed depot has been completed and is on schedule. Power supply-related constructions are also on schedule and almost near completion. "Recently, we also charged 25000 Volt lines in the last week of March 2013," says Jalan.

In terms of rolling stock, 11 trains have already arrived and the remaining trains will arrive in a phased manner in due course of time. The Train Simulator has been commissioned and the training of Operations and Maintenance staff is in process. "The project is nearing completion and once complete, it will transform the way people travel in Mumbai," says Jalan. The 11.07 km long Line One being constructed as the first phase of the Mumbai Metro project is to run between Versova and Ghatkopar.