The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will utilise the car depot at Charkop for Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri-E) initially, along with Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar). The authority has completed 92% work on the 16.4-hectare (ha) depot, which can house 24 trains, officials said.
Earlier, MMRDA had decided to utilise the depot only for Metro-2A. However, MMRDA is yet to get land at Dahisar to construct a depot for line 7.
RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “The availability of the Dahisar plot is linked to handing over an alternative plot to Airport Authority of India, which is part of a high court case. The decision is yet to be taken.”
The Charkop depot will also have 18 stabling lines [area to park trains] and an operation control centre (OCC) building. MMRDA had said that it is likely to receive 12 trains every quarter from Bengaluru-based BEML Limited starting July.
A depot is an essential part of the Metro operations and the location to wash and clean the locomotive, repair and maintain them.
The authority is looking to operationalise the 18.6km-long Metro-2A and 16.5km-long Metro-7 lines from December. However, it recently terminated the contract of the two companies, RCC-MBZ consortium, which was working on lines 7 as well as 2B (DN Nagar-Mandale). The firm was also awarded the contract for the largest car depot at Mandale – which can house 72 trains – but it has completed only 6% of the work.
MMRDA is looking to construct 337km of Metro network in the city and the metropolitan region by 2026. As of now, eight corridors are under-construction.