On second day of operations, 20,482 passengers take underground Mumbai Metro line till 9 pm

Mumbai: As many as 20,482 passengers used the newly-opened underground corridor of Mumbai Metro Line 3, or Aqua Line, Phase 1 till 9 pm on the first day of its full-fledged operation on Tuesday officials said.

A Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) spokesperson said the Aqua Line witnessed a ridership of 20,482 between 6.30 am and 9 pm on the second day of commercial operation, but the first day of full-fledged service.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 12.69-km-long Phase-1 of the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey Colony JVLR stretch of Mumbai Metro Line 3.

On the first day of operation on Monday, the new Metro line had registered a ridership of 18,015 on the entire day (between 11 am and 10.30 pm).

The ridership seems to be much below the estimated 4 lakh commutes per day which the financial model of Mumbai Metro Line 3 has been based on.

The newest Metro corridor joins a string of newly-inaugurated infrastructure projects which are experiencing lower-than-estimated patronage by people, leading to concerns around feasibility of such ventures which give the much cherished "global look" to the city.

The first phase of underground Aqua Line provides Metro connectivity to India's swankiest business district, BKC, besides domestic and international terminals of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova stretch.

As per MMRC, the daily estimated ridership of the first phase of Aqua Line between Aarey JVLR and BKC is 4 lakh, whereas the entire corridor (which is 33.5km-long), when operational, is expected to clock a daily ridership of 13 lakh.

As many as 6.5 lakh vehicular trips are estimated to be slashed due to the first phase of Aqua Line, while traffic on roads is expected to reduce by 35 per cent. Also, 3.54 lakh litres of fuel is expected to be saved due to the line.

The 12.69-km-long first phase of the underground metro line between Aarey Colony JVLR and BKC stations recorded a ridership of 18,015 on the first day of commercial operation on Monday between 11 am to 10.30 pm. On the first day, 8,532 passengers used the corridor till 6 pm and 15,713 till 9 pm.

As per a notification, Metro services will be operated from 6.30 am to 10.30 pm between Monday and Saturday, and between 8.30 am and 10.30 pm on Sundays.