Navi Mumbai Metro gets two new swanky rakes, nears 2020 deadline

The much-delayed Navi Mumbai Metro project is finally picking up steam with the arrival of two new swanky rakes at Mumbai port.

The three-car rakes were shipped from China and landed at Mumbai Port earlier this month. The units comprise of three coaches, which includes two driving cars (front & rear) and one trailer car.

The partially assembled rakes will be taken to Navi Mumbai in the next two weeks and assembled there.

Three more rakes are reportedly expected to arrive in May and another three in August. The coaches are being manufactured by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation in Zhuzhou, China.

According to reports, the first phase of the Navi Mumbai Metro will cover 11.10 km distance between Belapur railway station and Pendhar station near Taloja. The line, work on which is currently underway, will have a total of 11 stations.

As of March 2019, work on the elevated spans has completed. However, work on the stations, signalling and Taloja depot are still underway.

Once the infrastructure is in place, full-fledged trial runs will be conducted. If successful, the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety will be approached for clearance.

If everything goes according to plan, phase one of the Navi Mumbai Metro – built at a cost of roughly Rs 3,063 crore – is expected to be ready for commissioning by 2020, almost nine years after the project was launched.

The Navi Mumbai Metro has a total of four phases. The second one will connect Khandeshwar and Taloja MIDC, the third will link Pendhar and Taloja MIDC and the last one will connect Khandeshwar with the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport.

FINALLY! Here they are. Navi Mumbai Metro trains arrive. Two three-car trains land at Mumbai port. My story in @mid_day today and a few more pics. Click here to read: https://t.co/f0VswpLZJz pic.twitter.com/aZAWQdv2KE

— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) March 11, 2019