Mumbai: The MMRCL finally began its operation of Mumbai Metro 3 on Monday from 11 am and excited Mumbai were eagerly seen waiting for the first ride in the city's first underground Metro rail line. The elated commuters shared their experience of their first ride on social media and several videos have surfaced online.
As per reports, two-year-old girl Aaradhya became the first girl to buy the first ticket for the Aqua Line Metro.
The first metro departed Aarey-JVLR station for BKC sharp at 11 am and the second rake arrived exactly after 6 mins. Although MMRCL had said that mobile connectivity will be available near ticket counters and concourse, commuters were glad to find phone and internet signals inside too inside the tunnel too.
The commuters passed required security checks before the arrived at the platform. While several Mumbaikars waited at the platforms to waive the first Metro. "Mumbai Metro Aqua Line 3 is now live on Google maps! Aarey JVLR to BKC (ITO) station," an IT Engineer by profession and a Railfan Yash Maghdut posted on X.
A commuter, Sai Kumar, speaking with ANI said, "Underground Metro is a different experience. It is seamless and very comfortable. It used to take me 1 hour to travel to my destination, now I can do so in 20 minutes. I used to spend Rs 170 on auto on one side, Rs 250 on cab. Now, I will be able to travel by spending just Rs 80."
The commuters can purchase the tickets for Metro 3 from the counter directly and by using Wifi, while they can download the Metro3Connect App from Google Play and Apple App store and purchase tickets online.
The Aarey JVLR to BKC Metro 3 route consists of 10 stations and aims to reduce road traffic by 35 per cent. With 96 daily trips and ticket fares ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 50, the Metro 3 will be operational from 6.30 and to 10.30 pm, while on Sundays and holidays, the services will start from 8.30 am. The frequency of each train will be six-and-half minutes during peak hours.