Another push was given to the underground Colaba-Bandra-Seepz metro as Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has floated bids to buy and install rolling stock or metro trains.
According to the bid document that has been made public, it is an "invitation for pre-qualification of bidders for design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of rolling stock".
A total of 35 trains will be procured to service Mumbaikars on the entire 33.5-km-long underground metro line. "Each train will have six coaches or compartments," said an MMRC official.
An estimated Rs1,764 crore has been earmarked for the rolling stock. However, it does not include inflation, central and state taxes, octroi and insurance costs. At the moment, Colaba to Seepz metro line has an estimated cost of Rs23,136 crore, but a hike in civil construction cost is likely to happen.
The entire corridor will have 27 stations, out of which 26 will be underground and only one would be at grade (at ground level).
At the moment the plan is to commence operation of the route in a phased manner so that the systems can get stabilised. The plan is to commence with the first phase of commercial operations from December, 2018. The entire route will be ready for the public only by April, 2020.
If chief minister Devendra Fadnavis decides to have a car depot for underground Colaba-Bandra-Seepz metro line at Kanjurmarg, it would mean that the entire route would be commissioned in four phases. Only if a decision is taken to partially relocate the car depot at Kanjurmarg (apart from the proposed Aarey Milk Colony) or else Mumbaikars would witness commencement of operations in three phases.
The four phases would be Kanjurmarg-Seepz scheduled to be ready by December, 2018, followed by Seepz-Bandra Kurla Complex in June 2019, Bandra Kurla Complex-Science Museum (Worli) in December, 2019, and then the last stretch of south Mumbai, which is Science Museum-Colaba by April, 2020.
"Not all 35 trains would be delivered at once. They would come one after the other spread over a certain time frame. This would also help in rolling out operations in a phased manner as initially not all 35 trains would be required to ferry passengers," said an MMRC official.
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