The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has nearly completed the Metro car depot work located at Charkop for the Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar) and Line 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East). More than 95 per cent of work has been finished, including the administrative building, OCC & DCC building (inspection lines), IBL & Workshop building, Engineering Train Unit (ETU) building, scrap yard and main store building, amongst others. Only 10 per cent work of the covered parking and 50 per cent work of the watch tower in the depot is pending as per MMRDA.
The Charkop Metro depot is being built on 16 hectares of open land parcel. The depot is essential to carry out the smooth operations of Metro. It is where the rolling stock is washed and cleaned and all the repairing and maintenance will be done. This depot will have 18 stabling lines (16 for covered lines and 12 for open). Besides this, the depot is well equipped and will have a fully automatic car wash plant, fully automatic PIT jack for lifting six coaches and support six coupled railcars for unscheduled repairs involving the replacement of one or more boogies, 24 mobile jacks and a catenary maintenance vehicle.
Interestingly, the MMRDA will receive the first 'made in India' Metro train set this month (December, 2020). This metro train will be stationed at Charkop depot. With the Charkop metro car depot work significantly finished, the project has successfully attained the first step towards starting the much awaited Metro lines by 2021. Reportedly, it also received the delivery of the Italy manufactured diesel locomotive shunter (rail-cum-road mover), which has been stationed at Charkop depot only and MMRDA Commissioner RA Rajeev inaugurated the loco tractor.
