Overview
- Commercial service began Wednesday, a day after inaugurations, on Line 9 from Dahisar East to Kashigaon with four stations and on Line 2B from Mandale to Diamond Garden with five stations.
- Line 9 gives Mira‑Bhayandar in Thane its first metro access, with MMRDA projecting trips to Mumbai in about 30 minutes instead of one to two hours.
- Day‑one demand split sharply as Line 9 trains ran full in the western suburbs while Line 2B saw sparse crowds, which reporters linked to limited interchanges and long last‑mile gaps such as the 1.5 km walk from Chembur station to Diamond Garden.
- Operations were reconfigured with Lines 7 and 9 integrated for through services from Andheri East to Kashigaon running roughly 5:50 am to 11 pm at under six‑minute peaks, while Line 2B runs about 6 am to 10:30 pm at nine‑and‑a‑half‑minute intervals and Line 2A now functions as a standalone corridor with a paid‑area interchange at Dahisar.
- Planning moved forward on the proposed 43.69 km Metro Line 14 as MMRDA invited consultants to revise and peer‑review the project’s reports after an IIT Bombay‑flagged review led to a prior contract’s termination.