Over a decade ago, a dream was shown to turn Mumbai into Shanghai; but as the dream was not turning into reality, the catchphrase was changed to making Mumbai a ‘World- class city’. One of the features of this turnover was creating a 146-km metro rail network by 2021. It’s 2015 now and only 11.4km of metro and 8.93km of monorail are ready. Apart from that some more flyovers have dotted the city and citizens have got an an Eastern Freeway.
Last month, according to reports, the government has set an ambitious target of having a 130km metro network by 2020, which is a year earlier than what was marked in the last decade. Is it possible? Bureaucrats and planners laugh it off. The fact is that half of the showcased metro rail network dream may be ready only by 2030.
Between 1995 and 2005, travel speed has reduced by 1/6th from 30kmph to 5kmph in suburbs and 8kmph in city from 18kmph. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) of 2008 mentions that in this one decade there was exponential rise of vehicles. Cars increased by 137% and two-wheelers were up by 306%.
Now, MMRDA is in the process of updating the CTS to check the reality of how much has Mumbai’s road travel deteriorated in the last decade.
In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which includes Navi Mumbai, the 11.10km metro rail (Belapur-Kharghar-Taloja-Pendhar) work began in October 2011 but the deadline is repeatedly getting revised by the City and Industrial Development Corporation with no end of construction in sight.
Among the metro lines that are on priority list is the 33.5km underground Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ, which will be ready by 2030.
The state government is revising its Mumbai Metro Master Plan through Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The first corridor on priority under this plan is Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd; however, this has been broken into three phases now.
“Among the first reports by DMRC would be for Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd,” said UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. The idea is to implement the Dahisar-Charkop-Andheri section and integrate it with the existing Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro and simultaneously begin work for the Bandra-Mankhurd corridor. How to go about with the portion between Andheri and Bandra will be decided by DMRC.
The other three metro routes that the planners are contemplating include Jogeshwari-SEEPZ-Kanjurmarg metro, Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavli and Andheri East to Dahisar East metro lines. But these routes may be altered if DMRC prepared master plan recommends modification of alignment.
In the next 15 years or by 2030, new business districts and growth centres would come up to evenly distribute population in the MMR. To begin with it would be Kalyan-Bhiwandi and areas of Panvel, Dombivli, Virar, Taloja and Uran would be finalised at a later stage.
By 2030, Sewri-Nhava Mumbai Trans Harbour Link may also be ready to connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, which would become a hub of multiple activities like ports, airport, information parks, special economic zone, townships, etc.
In a year, the remainder Mumbai Monorail up to Jacob Circle will be ready but the Monorail Master Plan of 169km (submitted in 2010) will not happen as the state authorities have kept its implementation ‘on hold’.
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