The Central Railway passengers utilising the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), will soon have a convenient connectivity to the underground Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 station.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has obtained the state government's approval for an underground pedestrian subway — establishing a seamless connection between CSMT and the Aqua Line's CSMT metro station.

The subway will be 365 metre long and pass close to the Times of India building and St Xavier’s College, and end near the Himalayan foot-over-bridge.

It will be an access-controlled pedestrian subway facilitating seamless integration between the two stations, reports Indian Express.

Currently, the CSMT railway station accommodates more than 16 lakh passengers daily.

Further, the projected numbers for the underground Metro Line-3 CSMT station, indicate an estimated footfall of over 1.63 lakh passengers by 2025 and an increase to over 2 lakh passengers by 2031.

The construction of this underground access-controlled pedestrian subway will be undertaken by the MMRCL, with the expenses shared between the Maharashtra government and the Indian Railways.

The subway will feature travelators, lifts, escalators, refreshment sections, and toilet blocks, similar to those found at the Mumbai airport.

The MMRCL spokesperson said, “The state government has approved an underground access-controlled pedestrian subway which will be constructed by us. We will work out its engineering and technical feasibility."

The CSMT Metro station is part of Metro line-3 Phase-II, which is slated to be inaugurated by mid-2024.

The Mumbai Metro line-3 is a 33.5-km-long underground stretch connecting the busiest and congested regions in Mumbai.

The metro line will connect Cuffe Parade business district in the extreme south of the city, to SEEPZ in the north-central, with 26 underground and one at-grade station.

The first phase of the project between BKC and SEEPZ is expected to be ready and open to the public by December this year.