Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday kicked off the lowering of the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) at Nayanagar, Mahim, for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor. The tunnelling work, extending 33.5 lm, will continue for the next two years, using a total of 17 such machines, which will be shipped from China. The Metro 3 corridor is expected to be commissioned in 2021 Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Fadnavis, said "The city will not witness any kind of difficulties for travelling during flooding and water logging after all Metro lines are completed. Nor will tunnelling work cause damage to various structures of the city." Fadnavis added the government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ford mobility services for single-ticketing integration to allow ticket sales for various modes of transport such as the Metro, monorail, bus, and suburban railway using only one application. The first TBM will be used to bore a 6.10 km-long tunnel between Dharavi and Siddhivinayak Metro stations in October. "In the next four years, the Metro network will be completed, ferrying as many as 90 lakh commuters, in addition to the 70 lakh commuters that suburban locals ferry every day," the chief minister said. The Metro-3 corridor, with 26 underground stations and one above-ground station, will be a crucial north-south link, connecting business districts such as Nariman Point, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Seepz in Andheri.

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