Maharashtra Plans Mumbai Metro II

Just within a week of the first line of Mumbai metro becoming operational, the Maharashtra government has started doing a feasibility study for the second line of metro rail service. There are also plans of making the second line completely underground.

Mumbai Metro- line 2

The second line of the Mumbai metro, also referred to as Metro-II is a 32 km line to be built from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra. The line was launched in August 2009. The project will be built on a public private partnership (PPP) model. A consortium consisting of Reliance Infrastructure, SNC Lavolin Inc, Canada and Reliance Communication has been appointed by the MMRDA to carry out the construction of Metro-II. The total cost of the metro line is expected to be Rs 8,500-11,000 crore. The metro line has already seen delays due to several roadblocks in terms of lack of land availability, land acquisition, disapproval of allocated land and availability of various approvals.

The metro line was initially planned to be built in a completely elevated way due to cost considerations. However, the Maharashtra government has now requested the consortium to build the metro line completely underground. There are also plans to extend the Charkop end up to Dahisar. This plan will further push the time of the railway line becoming operational by three more years. The Maharashtra government has hired RITES, a PSU engineering consultancy, to perform a techno-economic feasibility study for the changes proposed for the second line.

Areas covered by Mumbai Metro-II

Between Dahisar, Charkop and Mankhurd, the second line is expected to have 27 railway stations. Some of the important areas that the line will pass through include Dahisar, Charkop, Oshiwara, Shastri Nagar, JVPD, Juhu, Vile Parle, Khar, Bandra, Kurla, Shivaji Chowk and Mankhurd. As a result, a major number of western suburbs and Central Mumbai will be connected to the eastern suburbs and further to Navi Mumbai.

How it will impact Mumbai’s Realty?

The metro line-II is another project that improves the connectivity between the eastern and the western suburbs as well as Navi Mumbai, as Mankhurd is a common point which will connect the extreme ends of the Mumbai Metroploitan Region (MMR). Some of the already existing road and rail projects include JVLR, Mumbai monorail and metro line-I. Moreover, the metro line reduces the traffic congestion between these suburbs are expected to reduce.

With a reduction in traffic congestion and improvement in connectivity, one may expect a growth in demand for housing in eastern suburbs such as Chembur and Mankhurd and eventually, a growth in property prices in the region. In Mankhurd, the present property value is approximately Rs 6,800 per sq. ft. With the development of the second line, one may expect the property value to grow multi-fold here.