The first phase of the project between BKC and SEEPZ is expected to be ready and open to the public by December of this year.
Passengers utilising the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line will begin using island platforms instead of the traditional side platforms used on most metro lines when the first phase of Mumbai’s first underground Metro is commissioned.
The Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro Line 3, also known as Aqua Line will be the first underground metro line in Mumbai and also one of the longest underground continuous stretches in India.
An island platform is a setup where a platform is located between two Metro tracks and will contain amenities including escalators, elevators, shops, restrooms, and waiting rooms.
An island platform minimises maintenance costs by preventing crowding by using the same big platform for trains travelling in either direction.
Another distinguishing aspect of the Metro 3 line’s 26 stations is that they will be greater in size than normal stops.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRC) managing director Ashwini Bhide said, “At each station, about 20,000 square metres of space has been created. Around 17 lakh passengers would take this line daily,” reports Indian Express.
According to the MMRC, all stations are 250 metres long and 22 metres wide. These stations’ platforms will be 180 metres long in order to accommodate eight coaches.
Except for the Aarey Metro station, all other nine stations in Phase 1 have more than 90 per cent of civil work completed and 50 per cent of system work completed, according to the MMRC official.
Metro Line 3 station construction began in July 2016.
Mumbai Metro Line 3
The Mumbai Metro Line 3 spans approximately 33.5 km, from Colaba (Cuffe Parade) in the extreme south of the city through Bandra, ending within the Special Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in the north-central.
The Aqua Line connects Mumbai’s most congested regions and key financial hubs such as Nariman Point, Bandra-Kurla-Complex (BKC), Fort, Worli, Lower Parel and Goregaon.
The first phase of the project between BKC and SEEPZ is expected to be ready and open to the public by December of this year.