Mumbai Metro: Saving Lives, Saving Environment

Touted to be one of the controversial projects in the recent times, Mumbai Metro Line 3 is nothing but the saviour to Mumbai’s ever-growing traffic menace, pollution and lives

Project management has always been a challenge in India which is evident with the visible delay in the completion of numerous mega projects. Quality and safety have also been major issues. These challenges spill over to the operation and maintenance wings of the projects, shrinking their efficiency and return on investment considerably.

Mumbai suburban rail carries more than 80 lakh passengers per day which is at least three times more than their actual capacity. This leads to extreme overcrowding and thereby an unsafe commute for citizens. As per the statistics, at least 10 people die on suburban rail tracks every day due to trespassing and falling out of crowded trains. Meanwhile, a similar amount of people gets injured and disabled. Losing 3,500 – 4,000 lives every year for the past many years has been a matter of great concern for the financial capital of India. So many families are devasted by such untimely death of their earning family members.

However, a question that keeps bothering the citizens of Mumbai is: how is this project likely to save the city from pollution, traffic and especially from losing lives? Ashwini Bhide, Managing Director, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation says, “This situation can be addressed, and precious lives can be saved only if there is a substantial capacity expansion of rail-based public transport in the form of Metro.” According to Bhide, by 2041, the entire Metro network will carry more than 1 crore passengers, which will lead to a safe journey on suburban trains..

Metro Line-3, being the most important and efficient corridor of the entire Mumbai Metro network, has a huge potential to save lives of Mumbaikars by providing a safer, comfortable and reliable transport

Ashwini Bhide

Why is Mumbai Metro Line 3 Important?

According to the assessment of MMRC, MML-3 will carry 17 lakh passengers every day and thereby take 6.5 lakh vehicle trips off the road, which will reduce 2.61 lakh tonne Co2 pollution every year.

Countering the claims of environmentalists, Bhide says, “Despite having one of the largest per capita tree covers, Mumbai is one of the most polluted cities in India. If the same amount of pollution is to be reduced just by planting trees, the city would require more than 2 core trees for which there is no space.”