On 21 June 2006, the Rs 19,525-crore project was flagged-off with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laying the foundation stone for the first phase - the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor at Godrej Lands in northeast Mumbai at a cost of Rs 2,356 crore.
The project comprises nine lines, of which 32.5 km would be underground and 114 km would be elevated rails. The first phase would be fully functional by 2011, second phase by 2016 and third phase by 2021.
At an estimated frequency of a train every four minutes and covering a distance of 146.5 km, the Mumbai Metro Rail Project when completed is expected to reduce travelling time for the Mumbaikars. The train will have a carrying capacity of 60,000 persons per hour and the travel time between Versova to Ghatkopar will come down from 70 to 21 minutes. The proposed fare structure is Rs 6 up to 3 km, Rs 8 for 3-8 km and Rs 10 for over 8 km.
A consortium of companies led by Reliance Energy of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has bagged the contract for the first phase along with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The MMRDA would also be the project implementing authority and it would be operated on a build-own-operate-transfer basis for 35 years.
The fully-elevated Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor would be executed by a special purpose vehicle formed by MMRDA and REL. The construction for the first phase would commence by October and it is likely to be completed by 2009-10.
The corridor will have 12 stations: Versova, D N Nagar, Azad Nagar, Andheri, Western Express Highway, Chakala, Airport, Marol Naka, Saki Naka, Subhash Nagar, Asalpha Road and Ghatkopar: locations that are not fully covered by the existing suburban railway.
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