India’s Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has commenced the pre-trials for metro trains at the Charkop depot.
The trials on the actual route will start in a month.
MMRDA said that the trial runs, which are expected to be finished in the next four-five months, will be followed by the commencement of commercial operations, reported Hindustan Times.
The MMRDA had previously stated that commercial operations are scheduled to start in May 2021.
Last month, the first indigenously built Metro train for Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri-E) were unveiled by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The officials said that the dynamic testing is a process that takes place before starting the actual testing.
An MMRDA official was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying: “The functionality of various systems will now be tested, which will take a month, after which connectivity to the main route and trial runs will begin. We expect the next train set also to arrive in March.”
The earliest deadline issued for the two corridors was December 2019, but major infrastructure projects in the city got delayed due to the pandemic.
MMRDA has also approved a $1.75bn budget, with a significant portion being allocated for the Metro network in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
In addition, approximately $392m has been assigned for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL).
This link is going to connect Mumbai with the mainland through a sea link between Nhava and Sewree in Raigad.
