Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today inaugurated the first phase of the Mumbai Metro rail consisting of Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route. The Metro authorities have fixed 10 rupees as promotional fare for metro ride irrespective of destination for first month. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Anil Ambani of Reliance group and other dignateries were present on the occasion. After the inauguration a special ride was arranged for the dignateries from Varsova.

The much awaited 11.4 KM long Versova Andheri Ghatkopar east -west corridor with 12 elevated stations en route of the Mumbai Metro will prove to be a big boon especially ahead of the monsoons in Mumbai. Serving the glamour and IT centres of Versova and the business and manufacturing areas of Ghatkopar at a speed of 80 kmph, the metro will run at a frequency of 4 minutes in peak hours and rest of the time services will be operated with a frequency of eight minutes with a total of 16 rakes deployed on the sector. The Mumbai Metro is the First Metro rail project undertaking in the country on the Public Private Partnership Model (PPP) between MMRDA and Relliance Infrastructure. The fully elevated Versova to Ghatkopar service has 12 stations with a capacity of around 1,500 commuters per service. This metro rail line linking the eastern and the western suburbs of Mumbai, will serve as a comfortable transport alternative and help ease traffic congestion.

Later, speaking at a press conference, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the long cherished dream of Mumbaikars is now fulfilled with the beginning of the Mumbai Metro. On the issue the ticket fare of the Metro he said that Reliance Infrastructure must strictly abide by the agreement between MMRDA and Reliance Infrastructure in accordance with the Public Private Partnership(PPP) model. He also said that the State Government is making all efforts to start metro rail service in Pune and Navi Mumbai.