Navi Mumbai: CIDCO Plans Airport Express Line Metro Between NMIA and CSMIA, Tender Process to Begin in 3 Months | File Photo
Navi Mumbai: Even as the first commercial flight made its landing at the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on December 29, 2024, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has pulled up its sleeves to provide smooth connectivity between NMIA and the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai. Plans are afoot to expedite the process to make the Airport Express Line Metro a reality soon.
While interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the function to mark commercial flight landing at NMIA, CIDCO Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Vijay Singhal said that the planning agency is committed to provide inter-airport metro connectivity to the people for smooth and hassle-free commuting.
Asked about the status of the project, a senior CIDCO official said that the detailed project report (DPR) for Airport Express Line Metro is under preparation. “We will be completing the preparation of DPR within three months for the 33-km-long metro line between two airports. Once the DPR is ready, we will start with the tendering process and ensure that the metro line gets operational at the earliest,” the official added.
Asked whether the metro will be an elevated one or underground or combination of both, the official said that some parts of the metro will be underground while some will be elevated. “We are deliberating on the same while preparing the DPR and hope to finalise the route alignment soon,” the official said.
The 33-km route is likely to have eight metro stations and the trains will run within a frequency of 15 minutes. The Rs 15,000 crore metro line is likely to have a daily ridership of nine lakh passengers once the existing and the proposed airport is connected.
CIDCO is working in coordination with another state body Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for the project. MMRDA, through Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will build metro line 8 from CSMIA to Mankhurd which is a stretch of 11.1 km while CIDCO will connect Mankhurd to the proposed NMIA.
