MMRDA scraps car sheds at Uttan Dongri and Pahadi Goregaon, sparing about 12,000 trees

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has scrapped the proposal to build two separate car sheds for Metro projects. The plan was to build one at Uttan Dongri for Metro Line 9 and another at Pahadi Goregaon for Metro Line 6.

MMRDA has decided that, instead of building a separate car shed for each Metro line, trains of different lines will be maintained at a single depot. This is expected to bring down project costs and ease the difficulty of acquiring land.

The decision will also spare about 12,000 trees that would have been affected by the car shed proposed at Uttan Dongri. According to MMRDA officials, a separate car shed is not necessary in the initial phase after each Metro line opens. Trains of interconnected lines can be parked and maintained at a common depot. This will reduce the cost of new car sheds and the need to buy land on a large scale.

Trains of Metro Line 9, which will run between Dahisar East and Mira-Bhayandar, will be maintained at the Charkop depot. The depot is currently used for Metro Line 7. Metro 9 is the next extension of Metro 7. Metro 7A, being built between Andheri East and the airport, will also be linked to the same network. MMRDA therefore says it is possible to maintain trains of all three lines at one depot. Preparations are also under way to start passenger service on Metro 9 soon.

The proposal for a separate car shed at Pahadi Goregaon has also been scrapped for Metro Line 6, which will link Swami Samarth Nagar with Vikhroli via Jogeshwari. Construction of the line, about 14.5 km long, is in its final stage. A pit line will be used to maintain trains here.

A pit line is a special railway track built to inspect and repair the underside of Metro trains. It allows technicians to examine the underside of a train without lifting the entire coach. Earlier, there was a plan to build a car shed for Metro 6 at Kanjurmarg, but the proposal could not move ahead because of land acquisition problems. A pit line has now been approved in place of a separate car shed.

Metro Line 6 will be connected to Metro Line 4, which is being built between Wadala and Kasarvadavali. Shared maintenance facilities may therefore be used for both lines. With less need for a separate car shed, the high cost of land acquisition and construction may also be saved.

Thirteen Metro lines are currently under construction in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, but MMRDA has so far built only two car sheds. Work is under way on another depot at Kaseli. Choosing car shed sites for the various Metro projects has run into several difficulties, including land acquisition, environmental objections and opposition from local residents. This is why MMRDA has put emphasis on the option of using a common depot for more than one Metro line.