Mumbai Metro


The Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit train system serving the city of Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region in Maharashtra, India.
While the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited is responsible for all metro rail projects being developed in Maharashtra, except for those in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is the authority responsible for maintaining the metro system in the Greater Mumbai area.
The rapid transit metro system is designed to reduce traffic congestion in the city and supplement the overcrowded Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It is being built in three phases, over 15 years, with overall completion, expected in October 2026. The Mumbai Metro is the third longest operational metro network in India with an operational length of as of October 2025. When completed, the core system will comprise sixteen high-capacity metro railway lines, spanning a total of more than and serviced by 350 stations.
Blue Line 1 of the Mumbai Metro is operated by Mumbai Metro One Private Limited, a joint venture between Reliance Infrastructure, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and formerly by RATP Dev Transdev Asia. While lines 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and their extensions will be built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and operated by the Maha Mumbai Metro Operations Corporation Limited, the completely underground Aqua Line 3 and Green Line 11 will be built by Mumbai Metro Railway Corporation Ltd.
In June 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the first phase of the Mumbai Metro project, although construction work began in February 2008. A successful trial run was conducted in May 2013, and the system's first line commenced operations on 8 June 2014. Many metro projects were delayed because of late environmental clearances, land acquisition troubles, and protests.
After nearly eight years, two new metro corridors, 2A and 7, were inaugurated on 2 April 2022, and are now operational. On 5 October 2024, the underground BKC to Aarey Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road section of the Aqua Line 3 was inaugurated. On 9 October 2025, Aqua Line further extension till Cuffe Parade was inaugurated and is now fully operational. Additionally, there are 8 other metro lines currently under construction in the city.

History

Being the capital of Maharashtra, Mumbai is among the largest cities in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of over 2 crore as of 2011, and a population growth rate of around 2% per annum. Mumbai has the advantage of a high modal share of the public in favour of a public mass transport system. The existing Mumbai Suburban Railway carries over 70 lakh passengers per day, and is supplemented by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport bus system, which provides feeder services to station-going passengers to allow them to complete their journeys. Until 1980s, transport in Mumbai was not a big problem. The discontinuation of trams resulted in a direct increase of passenger pressure on the suburban railway network. By 2010, the population of Mumbai doubled. However, due to the city's geographical constraints and rapid population growth, road and rail infrastructure development has not been able to keep pace with the growing demand over the last 4-5 decades. Moreover, the Mumbai Suburban Railway, though extensive, is not built to rapid transit specifications. The main objective of the Mumbai Metro is to provide mass rapid transit services to people within an approach distance of between, and to serve the areas not connected by the existing Suburban Rail network.
The master plan unveiled by the MMRDA in 2004 encompassed a total of of track, of which would be underground. The Mumbai Metro was proposed to be built in three phases, at an estimated cost of 19,525 crore. In September 2009, the proposed Hutatma Chowk – Ghatkopar was reduced to a line between Hutatma Chowk and Carnac Bunder.
In 2011, the MMRDA unveiled plans for an extended Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ metro line. According to its earlier plans, a Colaba-to-Bandra metro line was to be constructed, running underground for from Colaba to Mahalaxmi, and then on an elevated track from Mahalaxmi to Bandra. However, the MMRDA decided to increase the ridership on the line by running it out past Bandra to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ line will be built at a cost of, and will be the city's first underground metro line. It will have 27 stations.File:Mumbai_Line_1_metro_rake.jpg|thumb|278x278px|CRRC Puzhen trainset on Line 1 approaching Andheri station in 2019 On 27 February 2012, the Union Government gave in-principle approval to the plan for Line 3. Money for the project is being borrowed from Japanese International Cooperation Agency, the state government, the central government, and others. In April 2012, the MMRDA announced plans to grant the Mumbai Metro Rail Company increased management autonomy, in an effort to enhance the project's operational efficiency. In July 2012, the MMRDA announced plans to add more metro lines to its existing plan, including a line parallel to the Western Express Highway from Bandra to Dahisar. This line is expected to reduce the passenger load on the Western Line and vehicle traffic on the highway. Another proposed route, the, 28-station Wadala–Kasarvadavali line, received in-principle approval from the state government in 2013. The MMRDA also intends to convert the proposed Lokhandwala–SEEPZ–Kanjurmarg monorail route into a metro line. The Mumbai Metro master plan was revised by the MMRDA in 2012, increasing the total length of the proposed network to. In June 2015, two new lines were proposed. A line from Andheri West to Dahisar West, and a line from BKC to Mankhurd. The following table shows the updated master plan unveiled by the MMRDA:
PhaseLineName of the corridorLength
Phase I
1Versova – Andheri – Ghatkopar11.07
Phase I
2Bandra – Kurla – Mankhurd13.37
Phase I
3Colaba – Bandra – Charkop38.24
Phase II
4Charkop – Dahisar7.5
Phase II
5Ghatkopar – Mulund12.4
Phase III
6BKC – Kanjur Marg via Airport19.5
Phase III
7Andheri – Dahisar 16.5
Phase III
8Hutatma Chowk – Ghatkopar21.8
Phase III
9Sewri – Prabhadevi3.5

On 18 February 2013, the MMRDA signed a memorandum of understanding with Transport for London, the transit authority in Greater London. The arrangement will facilitate the exchange of information, personnel and technology in the transportation sector.
The revised Mumbai Metro master plan had proposed a line along the Thane-Teen Haath Naka-Kapurbavadi-Ghodbunder Road route. The feasibility report concluded that the line was not feasible as most residents of Thane and its neighbouring areas travelled to Mumbai for work daily. On 14 June 2014, Chavan announced that the MMRDA was instead examining a proposal for a metro line along the new proposed route of Wadala-Ghatkopar-Teen Haat Naka route. RITES will prepare the detailed project report and is expected to submit it by August 2014. The preliminary report proposed a line with 29 stations, to be built at an estimated cost of 22,000 crore. This would be the fourth line of the metro, after the previously proposed Charkop-Dahisar route was merged with the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd route to form Line 2.
In May 2015, the MMRDA said that it had begun planning for the Andheri-Dahisar line and Seepz-Kanjurmarg. Both lines are expected to be elevated, although the latter could be constructed underground if a proposal to extend Line 3 to Kanjurmarg is undertaken. DPRs for both lines had been prepared in 2004, along with the master plan, and the MMRDA would now update the DPRs. The agency also intends to construct Line 9 of the metro as an underground corridor from Sewri to Worli. However, planning for the project will only begun after the construction of the proposed Mumbai Trans Harbour Link commences.
In a report on 14 November 2014 about the cancellation of the PPP agreement for Line 2, Mint quoted a senior MMRDA official: "as decided earlier, all future lines of Mumbai Metro will be constructed by the Mumbai Metro Railway Corp. Ltd, a joint venture between the state government and the Union government." On 20 May 2015, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requested officials to consider constructing the Charkop-Bandra-Dahisar and the Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavali lines as elevated corridors. Although both corridors had been planned as elevated lines in the Mumbai Metro master plan, the previous Congress-NCP had decided to construct all metro lines underground, after delays and difficulties caused by acquiring land for Line 1. However, Fadnavis believes that the two proposed lines can be constructed quicker and cheaper if they were elevated due to the proposed route of the alignment. The Government plans to implement all future metro lines as elevated corridors. On 15 June 2015, the MMRDA announced that it would implement Line 2 of the metro in three parts. The Andheri-Dahisar line will have connectivity with the existing Line 1 and the proposed JVLR-Kanjurmarg line.
In June 2015, Fadnavis announced that he would request the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to assist in the implementation of the Mumbai Metro. He said that he intends to expand the metro system by before the state assembly elections in October 2019. In July 2015, UPS Madan announced that the State Government formally appointed the DMRC to revise and update the Mumbai Metro master plan. The DMRC will prepare DPRs for the Andheri East to Dahisar East, Jogeshwari to Kanjurmarg, Andheri West to Dahisar West and Bandra Kurla Complex to Mankhurd lines. The Andheri-Dahisar line will have connectivity with the existing Line 1 and the proposed JVLR-Kanjurmarg line. All four lines are proposed to be elevated and constructed as cash contracts. The lines are estimated to cost a total of, or about per km. In addition, the planned Line 3 and Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavli line of the metro would also be constructed.
Fadnavis announced on 8 April 2017 that the government was considering a circular metro loop line along the Kalyan-Dombivli-Taloja route. The proposed line would link Kalyan and Shil Phata with 13 stations, bring metro connectivity to Kalyan, Dombivli, Ambarnath and Diva.
The Mumbai Metro resumed services for general public on 19 October 2020, after being shut down since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
;Protests and delay
The project has faced significant and costly legal challenges. In 2018, protestors rallied to protect trees that were to be chopped down as part of construction plans. The central government first proposed the construction of a metro station at Aarey Milk colony. The protest resulted in several arrests. Protests again flared in 2022.