Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the Mumbai Metro 3 Project's Phase 2 connecting Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli on Friday. The inauguration was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and senior government officials. CM Fadnavis along with Dy CM Shinde, took a ride of the newly inaugurated metro stretch. The project will be open for public use from May 10, Saturday.
Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ corridor) has now extended further with a new 9.6-km underground stretch from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli Naka. This extension adds six crucial underground stations between Dharavi and Worli, and has received the final green light from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), paving the way for the commencement of commercial operations.
This follows the successful operation of the earlier 12.69-km section from Aarey to BKC, which includes 11 stations, 10 underground and one at-grade station at Aarey that also houses the Metro 3 car depot.
Implemented by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL), a joint venture between the Government of India and the Government of Maharashtra, the 33.5-km Line 3 corridor aims to connect Colaba in South Mumbai to SEEPZ in the north through some of the city's most congested and geologically complex zones. Once fully operational, the line will feature 27 stations and is projected to handle a daily ridership of 14 lakh passengers in its inaugural year.
Metro 3: Mumbai's Engineering Marvel
Constructing the corridor has been a challenging engineering feat. The twin-tunnel route cuts beneath dense urban areas, high-rises, and heritage structures while navigating a maze of 180 km of electrical cables, 4.2 km of water pipelines, 2 km of stormwater drains, and 2.75 km of gas pipelines. The tunnelling process had to account for a variety of geological formations, including basalt, volcanic tuff, and shale, along with complications from groundwater near the coastal zones.
To meet these challenges, 17 advanced Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), tailored for Mumbaiās geology, were deployed. Most of the 55 km of tunnel excavation was accomplished using these TBMs, while the remaining portions were carved out using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). Over 100 lakh cubic tonnes of material were excavated during the process.
Construction of Metro 3 began in November 2017. The project, with an estimated cost of Rs 37,276 crore (around USD 4.5 billion), is 60% funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). By 2055, the line is expected to serve 31.5 lakh commuters daily, with trains operating at two-minute intervals. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the line could help reduce 2.6 lakh tonnes of COā emissions every year.
