Mumbai's 1st underground Metro corridor opens, registers ridership of 8,532

Mumbai's first underground Metro corridor, the aqua line's phase-1, stretching from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey became operational for the public on Monday morning. A large number of people came to experience the ride on the first day as the service commenced at 11 am amid cheers from passengers. Later in the evening, officials said only 8,500 passengers used the financial capital's maiden underground metro for their commute on its inaugural day. The ridership for the first seven hours was much below the estimated 4 lakh commuters per day on which the financial model of the Mumbai Metro Line 3 has been based, sources said. Vaidehi More, a spokesperson for Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), said 8,532 passengers used the Aqua line till 6 pm, seven hours after it started commercial operations. More, however, did not specify the reasons behind the poor ridership figures on the first day. Several Mumbaikars, excited about the first day travel, arrived at stations before ..