Thane: The central government has finally given a green signal to the Rs 12,200 crore Metro project planned by the Thane Municipal Corporation to provide another option of public transport to Thane residents. The six-coach metro has finally been approved by the central government and this much-talked-about project, which has been on paper for several years, is now on track. The metro is expected to be operational by 2029 and will make the journey of the people of Thane easier and faster.
(MMRDA) is executing the project. The construction of the Bhiwandi-Kalyan metro project from Kapurbawdi is underway. Apart from this, it was decided to build a metro project under the Thane Municipal Corporation to provide another option of public transport to Thane residents. The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) had prepared the plan for the metro rail project. the project is Rs 12,200 crore. The project has been sent to the central government for final approval. However, the proposal was delayed due to technical reasons. The proposal was approved by the central government on Friday.
Six-coach metro
The municipal corporation had planned a six-coach metro project for the interior areas of Thane city. But in big cities, the six-coach metro is run at an interval of three minutes. The Centre had suggested that the three-coach metro should run at an interval of one and a half minutes in Thane. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had insisted that the Metro should be six-coach considering the increasing size of Thane city. He also met Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in this regard. During the meeting, the Chief Minister had proposed that the project should be a six-coach considering the future needs of Thane city. He had also explained why there is a need for a six-coach metro. While the proposal was being considered by the Centre, the central government approved the project on Thursday. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for approving the project.
The Thane Ring Metro project.
The total length of the project is 29 km, of which 26 km is elevated and 3 km is underground. There are 22 stations under the project, of which two stations will be underground. One of the underground stations will be connected to the Thane railway station. Other stations will be connected to the city's metro corridor. An estimated 7.61 lakh passengers will be benefitted daily by the metro rail service, which will be operational by 2029. The metro rail service will connect areas like Naupada, Wagle Estate, Dongripada, Hiranandani Estate, Kolshet and Saket.
This is a historic decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The efforts of the state government in the last two years to solve the problem of traffic congestion in Thane city have been successful. This is a great example of what can happen if the central and state governments take such complementary decisions. - Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister