Mumbai: The city’s first intense monsoon spell brought with it a scare for Mumbai’s newly launched underground Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line), particularly at the Acharya Atre Chowk station in Worli. Where rainwater entered the station premises, raising concerns and triggering controversy over the project’s readiness to handle extreme weather. However, officials clarified that the water entered through surface routes and not directly into the tunnels — a situation that, if it had occurred, could have spelt serious trouble for the Metro infrastructure.
On the day of the heavy downpour, MMRC reported that 38,357 commuters travelled on the route, and 217 trips were successfully completed between JVLR, Aarey, and Worli stations by 10 pm. On the second consecutive day, services remained operational between Worli and Aarey as restoration of services at the affected station is going on, and as per Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, the station will be opened to be public soon.
In a detailed explanation, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, which operates Metro Line 3, attributed the incident to a combination of heavy rains and a high tide affecting the area’s stormwater drainage. “Due to heavy rains and the high tide, the city's Storm Water Drain (SWD) system in the location experienced backcharging, rendering it incapable of discharging rainwater into the external drainage network.
Significant accumulation of surface runoff, particularly near the under-construction Entry/Exit pit, and the excessive water of the backcharged SWD system, found its way inside the station through the under-construction entry/exit pit. It also overwhelmed the internal flood protection system installed inside the pit, segregating the passenger and non-passenger areas of the station.
The water entered the public areas of the station concourse and platform. Except Acharya Atrey station, we have not faced any issues at any operational station despite heavy and incessant rainfall. There was no waterlogging or water seepage at the tunnel or any station. There is no impact on train operations between Aarey, JVLR to Worli — services are running normally.”
According to officials, commuter movement was restricted at the Acharya Atre Chowk station following the incident. However, services continued smoothly due to the continued use of the crossover track at Acharya Aatre Station that allowed trains to run between Worli and Aarey via JVLR.
