Don’t compare Metro-3, raised railway route: Experts

Mumbai: The railway authorities recently cancelled the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor project on grounds that it would be a duplication of the upcoming Metro 3 route. The line was originally truncated to Bandra-Virar and finally, union minister Piyush Goyal in a meeting asked officials to stop drawing up anymore plans as the corridor was no longer feasible.

However, experts like Subhod Jain, retired general manager of the central railway (CR) and railway board member who was part of the proposal for this corridor, said that the state and the railway should stop comparing the Metro and railway in Mumbai as it is akin to comparing apples and oranges. Mr Jain pointed out that the speed of the Metro and the local is a huge factor.

“The Metro can go at a maximum speed of 30 kmph, so, Andheri to Churchgate will take you almost an hour by Metro while it takes hardly half-an-hour by train. Similarly, if Churchgate to Virar takes about one hour and five minutes from end to end, the Metro will take at least two hours.”

Mr Jain also said that because the railway is still largely bound by the ethic of public service, the ticket on the elevated corridor would not have exceeded the fare tag of Rs 100.  

He said, “If we would have gone beyond Rs 100, the public would have criticised and the railway would have had to listen.”

“We don’t know exactly what will happen with the Metro’s fare and whether it will be affordable for the middle-class or upper middle-class populations,” added Mr Jain.