MUMBAI, INDIA: Come 2011 and you will be able to ride in air-conditioned comfort from Versova to Ghatkopar—in the Metro. Though experience with other big projects such as the Bandra-Worli Sea Link shows that deadlines are often flexible.
For the next few years, Mumbai is going to be turned inside out. Literally. Stretches of the city will be cut open and dug up. TheMetro Rail will use a combination of underground and elevated corridors supported by 11-metre high pillars, which will alter the look of the city drastically. But with its Metro Mumbai will join the ranks of Kolkata, Delhi, New York, London and Singapore as a city with its own tube.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) , which has been entrusted with the mammoth task, has already invited bids. Work on the Versova- Andheri- Ghatkopar line will start by the end of the year. Roads will be widened for the Metro.

Officials are reluctant to talk of the cost of travel but a rough estimate is that a ticket on the metro will cost 50%more than a BEST ticket. The project is estimated to cost Rs 23,336 crore and the MMRDA is pushing hard for central funding. "We are expecting the Union ministry of urban affairs to share the burden," said G S Madan, MMRDA director for Mass Rapid Transport System. "We want the Centre to take 50%of all that the MMRDA takes as equity or as viability gap funding. We have made presentations to the central government on the issue," he added.

According to Delhi Metro officials, who have prepared detailed technical plans for the project, the first phase on the Colaba- Mahim- Charkop line will be completed by March 2013. "To make the project viable, property along the corridor will be developed," said Delhi Metro officials. Will the Metro run alongside the existing suburban railway network? "The alignment of the Metro will be different though at certain points the two systems will intersect," said Madan.

Source: Times of India