Mumbai's First Underground Metro Corridor Opens To Public On Aarey-JVLR-BKC Section

Mumbai's long-awaited underground Metro corridor, the Aqua Line's Phase-1, became operational for the public on Monday (7 October) morning, connecting Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey.

As the city's first underground Metro service, the corridor has generated excitement, with a large number of people experiencing the new Metro line on its inaugural day.

The first public ride on the BKC to Aarey stretch of Mumbai Metro Line 3 commenced at 11 am, amid cheers and applause from eager passengers. The 12.69 km Phase-1 of this line was officially inaugurated on Saturday (5 October) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who traveled between BKC and Santacruz, interacting with students, beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin scheme, and laborers involved in constructing the underground line, reports Financial Express.

The 33.5-km long rail line running along Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ is the first underground metro corridor of Mumbai. It will connect the Cuffe Parade business district in the extreme south of the city to SEEPZ in the north-central area with 26 underground and one at-grade station.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing the Colaba-SEEPZ-Aarey JVLR project, announced that regular operations on the Aqua Line would commence from Tuesday. As per the schedule, Metro services will operate between 6:30 am and 10:30 pm from Monday to Saturday, and between 8:30 am and 10:30 pm on Sundays.

The newly opened corridor between BKC and Aarey has 10 Metro stations: BKC, Bandra Colony, Santacruz Metro, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) T1, Sahar Road, CSMIA T2, Marol Naka, Andheri, SEEPZ, and Aarey Colony JVLR. While all the stations along this route are underground, Aarey JVLR station is the only one at grade level.

The Aqua Line is the fourth Metro corridor in Mumbai, adding to the Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova Metro Line-1, Andheri West-Dahisar Line-2A, and Andheri East-Dahisar Line-7, which are already operational.

Once Phase II is operational, the Metro 3 corridor will connect southern, central, and western Mumbai, significantly enhancing the city’s transit infrastructure.