Mumbai Metro Line 3: BKC-Worli stretch inaugurated, opens to public on May 10

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

In a major boost to Mumbai's urban mobility, the much-awaited BKC-Worli stretch of the Mumbai Metro Line 3 was inaugurated on Friday, May 9, by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The new underground corridor promises commuters a swift, seamless journey between two of the city's busiest commercial hubs.

The newly launched 9.77-km stretch, comprising six underground stations, will open to the public starting May 10. It is expected to significantly reduce travel time and ease congestion on Mumbai's overcrowded roads and suburban railway network.

This extension builds on the existing 12.69-km operational section of the Aqua Line-3, which runs from Aarey (Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road) to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), in service since October 7, 2024. With the addition of the BKC-Worli stretch, Mumbai Metro Line 3 now spans 22 km of fully underground track, passing through high-traffic and densely populated areas such as Dharavi, Dadar, and Siddhivinayak.

Once operations begin across this expanded section, commuters will be able to travel from Aarey-JVLR in the western suburbs to Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli, South Mumbai, in just 39 minutes. The stations on the extended section are Kotak BKC, Dharavi, Sitaladevi, Dadar, Siddhivinayak, Worli, and Acharya Atre Chowk.

Back in February, authorities had confirmed that train movement had already commenced on the Dharavi to Acharya Atre Chowk segment, covering 9.77 km and six stations.

The currently operational Aarey to BKC stretch includes 10 stations, two of which serve the airport. A total of nine trains are available for the route. Of these, seven are in active passenger service, one remains on standby, and one is reserved for regular maintenance, according to a presentation by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) Managing Director Ashwini Bhide.

Plans are in place to run 260 round trips daily - 130 in each direction - with operational hours from 6 am to 11 pm, based on passenger demand and response.

The full 33.5-km-long Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor is a flagship urban transport project featuring 26 underground stations. It is designed to integrate with the city's suburban railway and other metro lines at around eight key interchange points, including major hubs such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Churchgate, Grant Road, Mumbai Central, Dadar, Mahalaxmi (which is close to the Monorail station), BKC (which connects with Metro Line 2B), and the Western Express Highway corridor (linked to Metro Line 1).