New Mumbai metro line to have lower fares than current one

Controversy rages over the fares charged on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro line. The state government wants Reliance Infrastructure to reduce its fares, which it is currently not doing. But such a conflict will not arise at all on the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ metro corridor once it is ready.

The fare will be much lower than that being charged on the first metro line.

The fare structure made public by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) is as follows: in 2019 the fare for the first three kilometres will be Rs11, while the fare to travel along the whole route will be Rs33.

"MMRC will fix the fare first, and thereafter the fare fixation committee will approve the subsequent revisions," said Ashwini Bhide, managing director of MMRC.

The only hiccup is that there is a possibility of a fare revision even before the line is made operational for public. According to the current plans, the entire route should be ready in 2020 with trials and safety certifications. However, the possibility of project delay is not ruled out.

If the completion schedule overshoots the deadline, this metro line might be finished in either 2021 or 2022, which means a fare revision is likely.