Mumbai Enters The Fast Lane Via Metro

“Life in the fast lane” is what we Mumbaikars demand.

That’s how we live.

 Mumbai Metro has been something which just took too long to start.

But it finally lived up to its hype.

  Sunday, it all began.

I was clueless as to the hullabaloo surrounding Andheri station.

The person standing to the bottom right of the above picture cleared my doubts.

 My friend Aga had known about Metro opening and so through him I got the news.

This is how we began our journey from Andheri to Ghatkopar.

 

The stations have been made spacious enough to handle the peak hour crowds.

The designing and layout too are decent enough.

Ticket lines are the same as our Western railways but the only thing differentiating them is that there are many such counters and kiosk machines to avoid extra delay time.

  

That’s your ticket.

One small coin.

And the best part was that since it was Inauguration day, all tickets cost us 10/- per journey.

 

The machines you see above are like the subway system in other states and countries where you have to place the coin on the detector machine, and then only can you pass.

For newbie and ticket-less travelers a warning is that only one person can pass with one coin.

  

This is the train we entered in, the inaugurated train.

All decked up.

 

The journey we had, were quick, marred by every other person clicking photos in full swing.

I’m sure to have been captured at least a 100 times in many cameras.

I photo bombed group pics too. (Evil laugh)

Media and Police personnel were available at all places.

By the time we reached Ghatkopar, every corner had at least a dozen of reporters asking people for their reviews.

When a camera man asked for one photo, you won’t believe it but around 50-60 people just jumped for it.

All in all, it has lived up to its hype, but it will be tested in this month as we will witness if Metro can handle huge crowds or no.

 

Some thoughts:

1. The doors are automatic. So, it will not stop for anything and everything. Thus I feel there are bound to be accident cases soon. Thus the staff must be kept near every door, so as to make sure no one is hurt.

2. The metal detector machine is just one line, and that means at peak hours, there will be a huge line. Just one line means there will be a packed station and chaos. They need to increase the lines.

3. Also, however good the state of the train, it just doesn’t stop imbeciles from littering it with their junk food and all rubbish matter.

4. The CCTV cameras if working in full swing can help in cases of theft, and for women safety during late night.

  

So for now, Mumbai might sense less traffic in certain areas.

Let’s see if Metro will be a boon or curse in the future!

 

Till then Mumbai,

Happy Traveling!