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Amid Mumbai’s increasing traffic congestion, the authorities are mulling a water metro link to the Navi Mumbai airport. Ashwini Bhide, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister and Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), confirmed the plans at an event organised by the Indian Merchant Chamber. Bhide said that the Maharashtra Maritime Board has prepared a proposal for the water metro project. “As the water metro project in Kochi was successful, Kochi Shipyard Company, which worked on that project, has been asked to prepare a study report for Mumbai’s water metro. New and eco-friendly transport options are being explored, so this project is being taken seriously,” News18 Lokmat quoted her as saying. IMC successfully hosted an interactive and insightful managing committee meeting with Ms. Ashwini Bhide, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Managing Director, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd on ???????????????????????? ????????????????????:… pic.twitter.com/U4tfRGPAIL — IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (@IMC_India) November 4, 2025 What we know about Mumbai water metro so far: 29 terminals, 10 routes The Kerala-based Kochi Metro Rail Corporation Limited was given the task of conducting a survey to start a water metro in Mumbai. They submitted their report to Maharashtra Fisheries and Ports Minister Nitesh Rane in June. Rane then asked officials to submit a development plan for water metro in Mumbai within three months. The Kochi Metro Rail Corporation report mentioned the construction of a total of 29 terminals and had also selected 10 routes. The project, which will include the construction of facilities for passengers at the jetty terminal, purchase of boats etc, will entail a total expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore. “The water metro will be a good option to connect suburbs with the city of Mumbai and south Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. A development plan should be prepared considering all these aspects. The jetty and metro terminal should be developed on the lines of the metro. Water metro should be connected with other modes of transport,” Rane had said. To make the lives of Mumbaikars easier and more efficient, the concept of a Water Metro in Mumbai was recently proposed. In line with this, a meeting was held today at the Mantralaya (state administrative headquarters) regarding the launch of the Water Metro in Mumbai. During… pic.twitter.com/uWsPPZenqf — Nitesh Rane (@NiteshNRane) June 16, 2025 How Kochi Metro led the way The Kochi Water Metro is a public transport system in Kochi, Kerala, that uses electric-ferry and boat services on the backwaters and waterways to connect island communities and the mainland. The project covers a planned network of 16 routes, 38 terminals and around 75 km (Phase one: 41 km) of waterways. It uses battery-powered or hybrid boats built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd for 50-passenger and 100-passenger capacity. It is an integrated, sustainable, water-based transit alternative for island-residents, reduce road congestion, improve connectivity and leverage Kochi’s extensive backwaters. As of early April, the system had served 39.49 lakh passengers since its launch on April 25, 2023. What about Mumbai Metro-3’s WiFi issues? BEST connect on the cards Bhide said the problem of mobile network in underground Mumbai Metro-3 will soon be solved. “Discussions are going on with various telecom companies to provide 5G network on all metro routes. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has also been requested about this. The Chief Minister has also written to the Union Telecom Minister, and Bhide expressed confidence that a positive decision will be made soon,” she said. Currently, Wi-Fi service is available at the ticket counter area. “Now, there are plans to provide this facility on the metro platform as well. Discussions will be held with the relevant agencies to ensure safe and convenient walking paths for metro passengers,” she said. Bhide further said that there are plans to connect BEST bus services to make travel from metro stations to other areas easier. Currently, BEST has about 2,500 buses, but a few years ago this number was 4,500. Mumbai needs at least 10,000 buses, so work is underway to increase the number of buses in the coming days.
