Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the BKC to Aarey stretch of Mumbai Metro Line 3 and took a ride till Santacruz station and back, during which he interacted with students, beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin Yojana and labourers involved in constructing the underground line.

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He launched the MetroConnect3 app designed to enhance the travel experience for commuters and also unveiled a coffee table book containing spectacular photos of the underground metro journey. He was accompanied by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishanan, Union minister Manohar Lal, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

The 12.69 kilometre stretch between Aarey Colony and BKC is part of the 33.5 kilometre Colaba-Seepz-Aarey Metro Line 3, which received the final clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) earlier this week.

The corridor between BKC and Aarey that the PM inaugurated during the day has 10 metro stations. These are BKC, Bandra Colony, Santacruz, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) T1, Sahar Road, CSMIA T 2, Marol Naka, Andheri, SEEPZ and Aarey Colony JVLR, which is the only station at grade. The Aarey-BKC stretch provides connectivity to both Terminal 1 and 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as well as the Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova Metro Line 1 at Marol Naka station.

Once fully operational between Aarey to Colaba in south Mumbai, Line-3 will cater to around 13 lakh passengers daily with train frequency of about 3-4 minutes.

It will ferry approximately 2500 passengers in each rake of eight coaches.

The estimated daily ridership in the first phase will be four lakh, as per the MMRC. MMRC has planned 96 daily services between Aarey and BKC between 6.30 am to 10.30 pm. On Sundays, the first service will commence at 8.30 am. The minimum fare on the line will be Rs 10, while the maximum will be Rs 50.

The operational speed on the line is 85 kilometres per hour (kmph), while the average running speed will be 35 kmph.

As per MMRC, as many as 6.5 lakh vehicular trips will be slashed due to the first phase of the Mumbai Metro Line 3, while the traffic on the roads on the stretch is expected to reduce by 35 per cent. Nearly 3.54 lakh litres of fuel is expected to be saved due to the line.

Last month, MMRC managing director Ashwani Bhide said almost 93 per cent of the work on the corridor is complete, and the entire line between Colaba and Aarey is likely to be commissioned by March or May 2025.