Mumbai's 1st underground Metro stretch from BKC to Aarey opens for public; watch video

Connectivity will be available near the ticketing windows and concourse. Pic/Ashish Raje

Mumbai's first underground Metro corridor, the Aqua Line 3's Phase 1 from Aarey to Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) opened to the public on Monday morning. People came in a large number to experience the Aarey-BKC Metro Line 3 ride on its first day of operations which began at 11 am amid cheers from them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 5, inaugurated the 12.69 km stretch and travelled from BKC to Santacruz and back. During the Aarey-BKC Metro Line 3 ride, PM Modi interacted with students, beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin scheme, and labourers involved in the construction of the underground Metro line.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is in charge of the 33.5 km Colaba-SEEPZ-Aarey project, announced that regular operations on the Aqua Line would begin on Tuesday.

One of the commuters, an IIT student travelling to BKC, expressed that the Aarey-BKC Metro Line 3 will help cut down travel time. "The roads and local trains are overcrowded and (the metro) will help them commute faster, especially those who are going to be travelling from North to South."

Aarey-BKC Metro Line 3 service timings, fares

Aarey-BKC Metro Line 3 services will run from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm on Sundays. Fares for the Aqua Line range from Rs 10 to Rs 50.

Passengers can buy tickets using the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), the Mumbai Metro 3 mobile app, and ticket vending machines.

The BKC to Aarey stretch has 10 stations: BKC, Bandra Colony, Santacruz, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) T1, Sahar Road, CSMIA T2, Marol Naka, Andheri, SEEPZ, and Aarey Colony JVLR. Of these, only Aarey JVLR station is above ground, while the others are underground.

An earlier mid-day report stated that mobile connectivity, for now, will be available near ticketing windows and the concourse. Other areas, platforms and tunnels will follow in due course.

Aarey-BKC Metro Line 3 fourth metro corridor

The Aqua Line is Mumbai's fourth Metro corridor, following the Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova Line 1, Andheri West-Dahisar Line 2A, and Andheri East-Dahisar Line 7.

With PTI inputs