The wait of Mumbaikars for metro services in the city came to an end when Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan flagged off the first service from Versova station in the western suburb today.
The service was launched by Chavan along with ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani at 10.10 AM. State Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and local MPs Kirit Somaiya, Poonam Mahajan and Gajanan Kirtikar were also present at the launch.
With the launch, Mumbai becomes the fourth city in the country to have metro rail operations, besides Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore.
The new mode of transport is expected to provide the much-needed relief to the commuters in the bustling metropolis where the overburdened suburban railways ferries 70 lakh people every day.
The introduction of metro services will revolutionise the commuting of Mumbaikars, Chavan said after the launch, which came after a delay of three-and-a-half years from the scheduled time.
"This project was conceptualised in 2006. It had faced several challenges during execution mainly because it is an elevated corridor. It definitely has taken time, but finally we have launched the services. This project is important for a populated city like Mumbai," he said.
The government has been insisting that all safety measures should be met and that there is no compromise on safety of passengers, Chavan said.
"The launch of monorail (in February this year) and now metro shows we have really entered the 21st century," the chief minister said adding this is the country's first metro BOOT project.
Earlier, when the bids were invited, Mumbai Metro was under the Indian Tramways Act. But, later the Central government introduced the Metro Act, bringing the metro under the new Act, which allows the operator to fix fares.
With this service, the journey on the 11.4 km Versova- Andheri-Ghatkopar stretch will reduce to 20 minutes which otherwise takes around 90 minutes at present by road transport.
