Sharing: A RIDE ON MUMBAI METRO

Reliance Mumbai Metro

Reliance Mumbai Metro opened its services to the public of our city on June 8, 2014. I was keen to go for a ride on the metro train and was waiting for an opportunity. Yesterday, I visited my friend Pooja Gursingh at her home in Ghatkopar. That’s when we both decided to go for a ride on the spanking new Mumbai Metro.

Pooja at Ghatkopar Metro Station just before the train arrived

The first phase of Reliance Mumbai Metro runs from Ghatkopar to Versova with ten stations in between. The entire ride from the first station to the last one takes less than 25 minutes at the cost of Rs. 10 per person.

The snazzy interior

We took a rickshaw from Pooja’s home to Ghatkopar station in the East. We walked via the railway station and reached the other end to reach the Metro station. There’s a lift that takes you to Concourse 1 where the ticket counter is located.

That's me near the door

There were four lines of people snaking towards the counter but the lines moved fast as the tokens were issued swiftly. No return tokens are issued – only one way. We purchased the tickets and took the staircase as I am wary of using the escalator. There is a lift too but taking the staircase was good exercise.

Ticket counter at Versova with huge crowds milling around

Everyone's bag is scanned before getting on to the platform. There are separate queues for men and women. It reminded me of the security check at airports. This is a very important safety measure and I was impressed.

Drop your token in that slot at the end of your journey

We swiped our tokens before entering the platform. The Metro Train came within a couple of minutes and got pretty crowded as we entered the first compartment. But it was Oh so Cool - both literally and metaphorically. We had to wait for a few minutes for the train to start as it was the first station. Then it took off smoothly across a section of Mumbai that I am not very familiar with.

Street Food @ Versova 

Stations:

1. Ghatkopar
2. Jagruti Nagar
3. Asalpha
4. Saki Naka
5. Marol Naka
6. Airport Road
7. Chakala
8. Western Express Highway (WEH)
9. Andheri
10. Azad Nagar
11. DN Road
12. Versova

Pooja going up the escalator

The ride was smooth and pleasant. It got better when most of the crowd got off at Andheri. We reached Versova and everyone got off the train. We dropped the tokens in the slot allotted before getting out of the platform. In versova, the staircase and escalator were beside each other. It was convenient for us as Pooja is quite happy going up and down escalators. We went down a couple of floors to the concourse to purchase our return tickets.

Station Control Room

There was a token vending machine at Versova and it was manned by a Metro employee. He pushed some buttons, fed the Rs. 20 note that I gave him and got two tokens from the machine before handing them over to me. While there were no notice boards warning us about not taking photographs, we were told not to take any by the guy at the vending machine.

Pooja kush huyi - sitting inside the cool compartment

The two of us went to a snack bar at Versova station called Street Food and ordered a plate of Batata Vada (Rs. 40); one Cappucino (Rs. 40) and one Cafe Latte (Rs. 45). The vadas were quite small and the prices steep. But they were not too bad.

We went to the platform to catch the return Metro to Ghatkopar. This time round, we were smart enough to walk further along the platform and took the third or fourth compartment that was not too crowded. We got seats and thoroughly enjoyed the ride back home.

THUMBS UP to Reliance Mumbai Metro! Looking forward to seeing the Metro spread its wings all around Mumbai.

CLICK HERE to read about my awesome experience on Delhi Metro