October 1, 2025: Construction on the eastern section of Metro Line 6 — the Swami Samarth Nagar Lokhandwala to Vikhroli corridor — has come to a standstill after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) began dismantling several already-built pillars. The move follows a redesign of the route necessitated by the relocation of the metro car depot at Kanjurmarg.
The 15.31-kilometre-long Pink Line, with an estimated cost of Rs 6,700 crore, has faced repeated setbacks since work commenced in 2017. The depot was originally planned on a plot adjacent to the Eastern Express Highway in Kanjurmarg.
To accommodate the original plan, engineers had designed cantilever and portal piers aligned with the proposed entry. However, with the depot now shifted to a 15-hectare plot north of the earlier site, the entry alignment has changed, requiring demolition and reconstruction of certain pillars.
According to reports, demolition began last week, although the precise number of affected structures has not been disclosed. An MMRDA official told the Hindustan Times: “Some piers have been redesigned, while the existing foundations are being reused wherever possible to meet the new structural requirements.”
The revision follows the state government’s transfer of land for the new depot site in 2023, which resolved one long-standing hurdle. Yet the project continues to face compounded delays. Legal battles over the depot site in the Bombay High Court, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and engineering as well as contractual disputes have collectively derailed progress.
Initially scheduled for completion in 2021, the project’s deadline has been repeatedly pushed back. With the latest redesign, concerns are growing that commuters in the eastern suburbs may have to wait several more years before benefitting from the much-needed metro connectivity.
Source: The Free Press Journal
