Maharashtra clears Rs 17,725cr Metro Line 13, Pune Ring Road expansion

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday approved the Metro Line 13 project, a 25-km corridor with 16 stations connecting Mira-Bhayandar with Vasai-Virar on Mumbai’s outskirts, at an estimated cost of Rs 17,724.99 crore, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

The government also sanctioned a revised project cost of Rs 10,502.36 crore for the eastern expansion of the Pune Ring Road, he said.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Infrastructure Committee chaired by Fadnavis at Mantralaya, the state secretariat, in south Mumbai.

The 25.03-km Metro Line 13 will pass through Thane and Palghar districts and will be implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), according to an official release.

Of the total route, 21.78 km will be elevated and 3.25 km will be underground. The corridor will have 16 stations, including 13 elevated and three underground stations.

The project also includes a 4.92-km integrated six-lane road-and-metro bridge over Vasai Creek connecting Panju island. A metro depot has been proposed at Chikhal Dongari in Palghar district.

The line will connect Mira Road, Vasai, Nalasopara, Naigaon and Virar, all parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

It will also provide connectivity to suburban railway stations at Naigaon, Nalasopara and Virar and is proposed to connect with Metro Line 9 at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Ground in Mira Bhayandar.

Bus services at all metro stations are also planned. About 24.84 hectares of land will be required for the metro project, which is targeted for completion within five years of approval, the release said.

Fadnavis directed authorities to complete land acquisition and access roads within the next six months.

Once completed, the line is expected to carry around 4.49 lakh passengers daily by 2031. The project is expected to reduce travel time by about 50 per cent compared to road travel, reduce dependence on private vehicles and traffic density on major national highways, and lower carbon emissions, the release said.

The Metro Line 13 will also improve connectivity between Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar and Mumbai suburbs, besides strengthening links with industrial and logistics centres, Fadnavis said.

Pune Ring Road expansion

The Infrastructure Committee also gave administrative approval to the revised project cost of Rs 10,502.36 crore for the eastern expansion of the Pune Ring Road. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will implement the project.

The expansion covers a 31.805-km access-controlled expressway from Sortapwadi (Valti) on the Pune-Solapur road to Varve (Budruk)-Shivare on the Pune-Satara road.

The ring road is aimed at diverting inter-state and inter-city traffic outside Pune, thereby reducing congestion within the city, according to the release.

The entire project is 168.981-km-long and will form an integrated access-controlled corridor once continuity of the full route is ensured.

About 80 per cent of the land acquisition has been completed and the project is targeted for completion by June 2029, the release said.

The road will have three lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 120 kmph. It will include one interchange, three major and five minor bridges, 18 viaducts or flyovers and four tunnels.

Tree plantation along both sides of the road and landscaping near the interchange have also been proposed, the release added.