Mumbai, Oct 5 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off the operations in the first phase of Mumbai Metro Line 3 between Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Aarey and took a ride from BKC to Santacruz station during which he interacted with students, women beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin scheme, workers and other commuters.

The Prime Minister earlier in the day inaugurated the BKC to Aarey JVLR section of Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Colaba-SEEPZ). The project came up at a cost of Rs 14,120 crore.

Nine out of a total of 10 stations on the section will be underground. Mumbai Metro Line 3 is a key public transport project that will improve commuting between Mumbai city and Suburbs. Fully operational line-3 is expected to cater to about 12 lakh passengers daily.

The project has received funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The 10 stations will be operational from October 6, from 6.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. on weekdays and 8.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. on weekends.

There will be nine rakes, undertaking 96 trips each day. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) expects each eight-car train to ferry 2,500 passengers while the headway between two metro trains will be 6.40 minutes.

According to an MMRCL official, 48 train captains will maneuver the trains.

The fares for the Aarey-BKC route will be in the range of Rs 10 to Rs 50. He further said that the maximum fare will be Rs 70 after the entire corridor (Colaba-SEEPZ) is ready till Cuffe Parade.

The phase II of Mumbai Metro Line 3 second phase is 21.34 km long and once it becomes operational, 31 rakes are expected to ferry around 13 lakh passengers daily.

The project aims to cope with the increase of traffic demand in Mumbai by expanding the mass rapid transportation system, thereby promoting regional economic development and improving urban environment, through mitigation of traffic jams and decrease of pollution caused by increasing motor vehicles.

Mumbai Metro Line 3 is the first underground metro section in Mumbai which will connect Cuffe Parade business district in south Mumbai to SEEPZ in the north-central via BKC station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport station, with 26 underground stations and one at-grade station.

With the operation of the Mumbai Metro Line 3, the journey from the Domestic Airport station to Cuffe Parade station will take about 45 minutes, while normally it would take more than 2 hours by car during peak traffic time.

The Mumbai Metro Line 3 project introduces women-only cars and priority seats for those who need assistance, and installs surveillance cameras in station buildings and trains, ensuring a safe journey to the passengers. Also, the station buildings and cars are designed with consideration for elderly and disabled people.

Nearly 17 lakh commuters will travel on this metro section.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the second phase will be operational by March next year.