THANE: Commuters on Ghodbunder Road may finally get to ride the Thane Metro before the year ends. The first phase of Metro Line 4, between Gaimukh and Cadbury Junction, will be inaugurated in December, state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said on Monday.
Sarnaik said the stretch, which runs via Kasarvadavali, should take some of the load off Ghodbunder Road, where long traffic jams are a daily problem for residents. He did not give an exact date for the inauguration.
The minister also said about ₹250 crore has been set aside for a Gaimukh Chowpatty and a memorial to Maratha admiral Kanhoji Angre in the Nagla Bandar area.
A year after the trial run
The December date comes after a long wait. The trial run on the corridor was held on September 22, 2025, but passenger services have still not started. Last month, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) staged a protest in Thane to mark one year since the trial run. (Read: Thane Metro Trial Run Completes One Year, NCP-SP Stages Protest Over Delay)
The corridor received RDSO certification in June this year, and the rolling stock for the first stretch later got safety clearance, the Free Press Journal reported in August. The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) had also inspected the pit line at Gaimukh, which will be used to park and maintain trains until the car shed is ready. At the time, the MMRDA was hoping to start services around Diwali or by the end of the year.
The first phase is about 10.5 km long and has eight stations: Gaimukh, Kasarvadavali, Vijay Garden, Dongripada, Tikuji-ni-Wadi, Kapurbawdi, Majiwada and Cadbury Junction.
Metro Lines 4 and 4A together will run 35.20 km from Wadala to Gaimukh via Ghatkopar, Mulund and Thane, with 32 stations. The project is estimated to cost ₹15,498 crore.
₹250 crore for Gaimukh waterfront
The Nagla Bandar waterfront is being developed as a tourist spot, and the Gaimukh Chowpatty and Kanhoji Angre memorial are part of this plan. Sarnaik said the funds were provided at the initiative of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also chairs the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). He said the projects would bring more visitors to the area and create local jobs and business.
“The Metro will make travel faster and easier for Thanekars. Projects like the Gaimukh Chowpatty and the Kanhoji Angre memorial will give Thane’s tourism a new direction. In the next two years, people will see a developed and attractive Thane,” Sarnaik said.
