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The Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line) public transport system is designed to span over 33.5 kilometers from the south of the city to the north-central area.
MMRCL has recently shared an update on all progress for the metro line.
Project Progress
According to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), the Aqua Line project is almost 78.8% complete including Phase 1 and Phase 2 as of 28 Feb 2023.
Phase 1(Aarey to BKC) achieves 85.2% and Phase 2(BKC to Cuff Parade) completes 76% of over all work.
The civil work is 91.3% complete, station construction is 88.7% complete, tracks work is 55.6% complete, and tunneling is 100% complete.
The overall system work is 47.5% complete, which shows that significant progress has been made toward the completion of the project.
The over all progress for car shed work has achieved 53.8%.
Station Construction
The Aqua Line project consists of 27 stations, with nine stations being underground in Phase 1.
MMRCL has reported that the stations in Phase 1 are over 90% complete, and the stations in Phase 2 are over 86% complete.
Out of the 27 stations, only three – Kalbadevi, Girgaum, and Grant Road – are less than 80% complete. This means that station construction is progressing well and is almost near completion.
Track Work
MMRCL reports that 54% of the track work has been completed on the entire project.
The Aqua Line uses head-hardened (HH) rails, which can withstand 50% more pressure than regular rails. These HH rails have been imported from Japan, and the MMRCL is also using high vibration attenuation booted twin sleeper blocks (HVABTSB) on the Aqua Line.
These blocks will absorb up to 22 vibration decibels (Vdb), which is essential for Mumbai’s crowded cityscape.
Traction System
The Aqua Line will use an overhead contact system (OCS) for its metro fleet’s power supply.
MMRCL has reported that 57% of the OCS work has been completed for Phase 1, and 46% has been completed for Phase 2.
This shows that the work is progressing steadily toward completion.
Rolling Stock
MMRCL has awarded a contract worth 315 million euros to Alstom to supply 31 fully-furnished modern passenger trainsets of eight cars each for the Aqua Line.
The company has already delivered two trains, which are undergoing mandatory tests on a 5-km stretch between Ramp at Sariput Nagar and Sahar.
Once completed, it will undoubtedly ease the city’s congestion and provide relief to its citizens.