The focus has returned to the Gold Line, also known as Metro 8, which connects the future Navi Mumbai International Airport to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). It is anticipated that the new government will decide on the vital infrastructure project’s executing agency shortly.
There isn’t a mass rapid transit system (MRTS) connecting the two airports at the moment. This gap is meant to be filled by the Metro 8 route, which is envisioned as part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) Metro Master Plan. Given that the route crosses both the city and Navi Mumbai, discussions were made before the assembly election to determine which agency would carry out the project.
Eknath Shinde, the chief minister at the time, wanted MMRDA to oversee the 35-kilometer route, even though the state government and MMRDA supported Cidco’s (City and Industrial Development Corporation) project execution through Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro).
“The then chief secretary and MMRDA were inclined towards Cidco executing the project through Maha Metro, as the majority of the route falls within Navi Mumbai,” an official with the state government said. Shinde was unable to make a decision. Now that the Navi Mumbai airport is scheduled to open the following year, the Metro 8 project is anticipated to be accelerated by the new government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Nine lakh passengers per day are anticipated to use the Rs 15,000 crore metro line.
Source: The Times of India
