Metro 2A, Metro 7 to be operational by early 2020; provide major relief to western suburb commuters

Two crucial metro lines in the city’s western suburbs – Metro 2A and Metro 7 – are expected to become operational by the start of 2020, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday.

The CM was reviewing and taking stock of all the infrastructure projects in the state yesterday, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

During the meeting, Fadnavis reviewed the progress of all the Metro lines in Mumbai, Nagpur & Pune; Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL); the Navi Mumbai Airport and several ongoing railways and irrigation projects in the state.

With 65 percent of the civil work completed for Metro 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and 68 percent for Metro 7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East), both lines are expected to be made operational by the start of next year.

While the CM was initially pushing to complete the projects by September or October, when the state goes for polls, several roadblocks and external factors led to unforeseen delays.

The 18.6 km long Metro 2A will have 17 stations, while the 16.5 km long Metro 7 will have 16 stations.

Once ready, the Metro 2A and Metro 7 lines will be able to ferry approximately 16 lakh passengers daily, providing some much-needed relief to commuters and reducing the burden on the existing rail and road network.

Fadnavis also directed officials to complete construction of six other metros in Mumbai Metropolitan Region by 2022, which will take the total metro network to 119 km.

The metros are Metro 2B (DN Nagar-Mankhurd, Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz), Metro 4 (Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali), Metro 4B (Wadala-GPO), Metro 6 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan) and Metro 5 (Lokhandwala-Vikhroli).

Further, work on 169 km of additional metro lines across the state is expected to start by 2022.