The Navi Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit system in the city of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The planning and construction of the Navi Mumbai Metro was overseen by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). The system is planned to consist of five rail lines covering a total distance of 106.4 km, out of which one is operational and the other four are being planned. The foundation stone for the project was laid on 1 May 2011, with a target completion date of 2014. After over 9 years of delays, due to slowdowns in construction caused by lack of labour and adequate funding, along with land acquisition issues, the Line-1 of the metro commenced operations on 17 November 2023.

History

The Navi Mumbai Metro projects received formal approval on 29 April 2010, and a public hearing on 21 May 2010 reported no major objections to the plan. CIDCO was named as the implementing agency of the Belapur–Pendhar–Kalamboli–Khandeshwar line, under the Indian Tramway Act 1886, by the Government of Maharashtra on 30 September 2010. The metro's foundation stone was laid on 1 May 2011 by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, and general foundation work on the system's first phase commenced in October 2011. In March 2012, CIDCO released the metro's complete master plan, including a proposed connection to the Mumbai Metro. In February 2017, RITES submitted an interim detailed project report (DPR) for Lines II, III and IV of the Navi Mumbai Metro. In February 2013, thousands of villagers in the Navi Mumbai area protested against CIDCO's inaction on local housing developments and its failure to provide restitution for locals affected by infrastructure projects. The protesters pledged to "shut down the CIDCO head office and all development projects in the region. These will include the metro project and any progress on the airport project".

Network

The Navi Mumbai Metro is planned to consist of five lines, totaling 106.4 km in length. , Line 1 of the metro was slated to commence operations in November 2023, which it ultimately did on the 17th of that month.

Line 1

All the phases of Line 1 will be constructed and funded by CIDCO. Lines 2 and 3 will be funded by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority respectively. The total cost of Line 1 is estimated to be inr 40680000000.

Construction

The 23.40 km Line 1 consists of 20 stations. The proposed route will link CBD Belapur, Kharghar, Taloja, Taloja MIDC, Kalamboli, Kamothe and the Khandeshwar railway station, terminating at the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport. In mid-2012, CIDCO awarded the inr 3210000000 contract for the construction of the 11.1 km section from Belapur to Pendhar to a consortium of Sanjose (Spain), Mahavira Road and Infrastructure (Navi Mumbai), and Supreme Infrastructure (Mumbai). The original deadline to complete the project was in 2016. This was later extended to mid-2017, and then mid-2018. By January 2017, only 60% of the work on the stations had been completed. Finding the progress of work to be unsatisfactory, CIDCO sent a notice terminating the contract to the consortium on 11 January 2017. On 1 March 2017, CIDCO floated new tenders to construct 11 stations along the Belapur-Pendhar section. The previous contractors had completed 60% of the work on the stations. The new contract with worth inr 1410000000. Line 1 is planned to be developed in 3 phases:

Infrastructure

An international consortium of companies including Ansaldo STS, Tata Projects and CSR Zhuzhou will provide the electrical and mechanical systems for the first phase of Line 1. Ansaldo will conduct systems integration and supply train control systems, telecoms, fare collection systems and equipment storage. The metro's standard gauge network would be electrified at 25 kV AC, with power provided via an overhead catenary.

Rolling stock

In 2014, the Chinese company CSR Zhuzhou signed a contract with CIDCO to supply rolling stock for the first phase of the metro's Line 1. The three-car trainsets are 64.6 m long and 3.1 m wide, with a passenger capacity of around 1,100 and a maximum speed of 90 km/h. The trains feature stainless steel bodies, air-conditioning and LED lighting.

Status updates