Metro Line 12-A from Manpada to Taloja cleared, CM tells MMRDA to finish it in 3.5 years

The Cabinet's infrastructure committee has approved Mumbai Metro Line 12-A. The line will run from Manpada-Katai Naka to Taloja via Kalyan Phata and is 18.40 km long. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed that the route be completed in the next three and a half years.

The committee met in the Cabinet room at Mantralaya under Fadnavis's chairmanship. Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Chief Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Asim Kumar Gupta and MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee were present.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had submitted the detailed project report for the proposed Line 12-A from Manpada-Katai Naka to Taloja, via Kalyan Phata, for the committee's approval. Dr Mukherjee told the meeting that the line is expected to save 40 to 50 per cent of travel time compared with the road journey.

The Chief Minister said Line 12-A would improve connectivity to industrial and logistics centres, and travel between Kalyan-Dombivli and Navi Mumbai would also get better. He asked for the line to be completed in three and a half years for this reason. He also told officials to speed up the metro works now under way in the state and to ensure they are completed on time.

The entire line will be elevated, with 12 stations proposed. The project also includes an integrated flyover, 6.93 km of it four-lane and 8.69 km six-lane. The line is estimated to carry 4.74 lakh passengers a day.

On connections, an interchange with Metro Line 12 and the bullet train connecting route is proposed at Katai Naka. Links are proposed with Metro Line 14 between Katai Naka and Kalyan Phata, and with Navi Mumbai Metro Line 1 at Amandoot. A feeder bus service is also proposed at all stations.

It was stated that better availability of public transport and easier switching between modes will reduce the use of private vehicles. This is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions and ease vehicle congestion on the national highway. The stated aims of the project are to cut travel time, reduce traffic pressure on roads, promote eco-friendly public transport and build a strong transport system for the area's economic growth.

MMRDA will implement the project. The meeting also approved appointing the authority as the special planning authority for the metro line and the integrated flyover. It further approved handing over to MMRDA the designated government land within the project's influence zone, for developing the project and raising funds.