Scroll at your own cost: Mumbai’s Aqua Line trains still have no internet

Internet connectivity on Mumbai’s only underground metro line, whose final leg between Worli and Cuffe Parade was inaugurated two weeks ago, has been held up.

When travelling on the Aqua Line, Mumbai’s newest metro corridor, forget about scrolling through your phone while away the time. If you need to use your cell phone for something more pressing, be warned – there’s still no service.

Internet is available in the concourse area of the stations but there is no range inside the trains. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

Internet connectivity on Mumbai’s only underground metro line, whose final leg between Worli and Cuffe Parade was inaugurated two weeks ago, has been held up due to a squabble between the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) and the internet provider contracted to provide the service.

The delay has sparked criticism, seen as a glaring oversight amid all the hype surrounding the metro corridor. Although the internet is available in the concourse area at all 27 metro stations on the Aqua Line, it blinks out as soon as you board a train.

This is quite a downer for the 1.8 lakh commuters who ride the 33.5-km Line 3, between Aarey JVLR and Cuffe Parade, every day. “The service provider appointed by MMRCL wants to lay their own fibre optic cables along the route, even though we have spent ₹100 crore on laying cables ourselves. They believe that using their own cables would reduce their operating costs. We hope to arrive at an understanding in the next few days,” said a minister requesting anonymity. He was categorical that MMRCL would not concede to the demand.

Meanwhile, MMRCL is engaged in a dialogue with the state government over the offices of political parties that were relocated to make way for the Vidhan Bhavan metro station and the Aqua Line route.

The offices had been relocated to Ballard Pier on the understanding that MMRCL would relocate them back after work on Metro Line 3 was completed. However, MMRCL leased the 4.2-acre plot that had housed these offices to the Reserve Bank of India for ₹3472 crore last month.

The corporation is now passing the buck to the state government. “We have asked the government to find space in Nariman Point to accommodate the political party offices. They could be accommodated in the tower being redeveloped by the BMC in the Fire Brigade building. We have agreed to pay for the move,” said an MMRCL official.