Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has started the work of connecting Metro 7A to the airport. Excavation work has started to prepare the underground route of metro between Andheri and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Out of the 3.442 km long metro route, 2.49 km will be underground. About 1 km route will be elevated. MMRDA has set a target to complete the construction work of the tunnel by May 2024 to make the travel of air passengers easier. This is the shortest line of the metro being built in MMR. According to MMRDA Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, work on this metro line is being done 24 hours to complete the work within the stipulated time. The work of removing the bottlenecks in the metro route has already been completed. At present, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes for passengers to reach the domestic terminal by road from Andheri or Vile Parle railway station. With the start of service on Metro 7A, passengers will be able to reach the airport in just 8 to 10 minutes.
Metro 7A corridor will connect to other five lines of the metro. Due to being connected to five lines, metro passengers will be able to easily reach the city or suburb in a few minutes without getting stuck in traffic. According to MMMRD, Metro 7A will be connected to Metro 9, Metro 7, Metro 2A, Metro 3 and the proposed Metro 8. With the completion of Metro 7A, air passengers will save about 30 minutes.
The station of Metro 3 corridor being built between Colaba-Bandra-Seepz will also be connected to the airport. So that the passengers of Metro 3 and Metro 7A can easily travel through each other’s line, the stations of both the corridors will be constructed parallel. So that metro passengers can easily change trains. Along with this, MMRDA is also working on the plan of about 35 km long Metro 8 corridor between Mumbai Airport and Navi Mumbai Airport.