Title - Versova-Ghatkopar Metro to carry 12L, not 7L commuters

MUMBAI: More Mumbaikars will be able to board the first Metro than originally planned.The Aspiring commuters on city's first west-east Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro corridor will get a hiked carrying capacity of 10 to 12 lakh commuters per day from the originally planned 7 lakh commuters per day."We plan to enhance the carrying capacity of passengers on the first west-east Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro corridor from seven lakh to 10 lakh per day," announced Reliance Infrastructure Chairman Anil Ambani, during the company's 84th annual general meeting held at Birla Matoshree Hall in Marine Lines on Tuesday.

"The entry and exit points at stations with staircases, lifts and escalators have been constructed to cater to more than 12 lakh commuters a day. "R-Infra is commissioning 16 trains of four coaches each and we are ready to press for additional 44 coaches into services within six months of commissioning," said a source. Initially, the Metro trains are to operate at a frequency of 3.5 to 4 minutes during peak hour. Now, the project system, including the signalling system, is designed to operate the trains with a headway of two minutes.

The Project has been designed to future proof the passenger demand; we are confident of catering to more than 12 lac passengers without any major inconvenience to the passengers in and outside the train.

A detailed simulation has been carried out to design the stations and demarcate the passenger flow areas for efficient crowd management during operations. The stations are designed such that commuters can be evacuated within four minutes.