India's Longest Elevated Metro — If Thane's Line 4 Can Get Past Dusty Rakes, Missed Deadlines
June 5, 2026
Nine months after CM Fadnavis flagged off trial runs, Metro Line 4 rakes sit dusty and idle above Ghodbunder Road. An RDSO certificate is finally here. November 2026 is new date.
Two metro rakes parked under the open sky near Ghodbunder Road, blanketed in dust for months, became Thane’s most viral image this year. They said everything MMRDA’s press releases wouldn’t. Now, with an RDSO certification finally in hand and November 2026 as the new target, Thane’s commuters are asking the only question that matters: should we believe it this time?
The rakes have not moved much since February. Parked between Owale and Kasarvadavali stations on the elevated corridor above Ghodbunder Road, they were brought in for the September 2025 trial run that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis flagged off with considerable fanfare — just weeks before the Maharashtra assembly elections.
The cameras rolled, the speeches were made, and then very little happened. “Till February, the rakes were being moved from one station to another. But since March, they have been left out in the open," Raj Sudhakar, a mathematics professor who lives in a building overlooking the tracks, was quoted by Indian Express.
“The least the authorities can do is keep the expensive technology under the cover of constructed metro stations."
On June 2, 2026, something did finally move: the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) granted mandatory certification for Phase 1 of Metro Lines 4 and 4A — after a wait of 209 days.
It is the most concrete forward movement the project has seen in months. But Thane’s commuters, who have watched deadline after deadline quietly pass, are not celebrating yet.
So When Will Metro Line 4 Actually Start Running?
MMRDA is now targeting November 2026 for partial operations on Phase 1 — 10.5 km from Gaimukh to Cadbury Junction, covering 10 stations.
To understand how far this is from the original plan: in September 2025, Fadnavis announced four stations would open by December 2025, followed by the full Phase 1 stretch by April 2026. MMRDA officials reiterated the first-quarter-2026 target earlier this year. Neither was met.
The RDSO certification is significant but not the finish line. MMRDA must now apply to the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) for inspection and final safety clearance — a process expected to take one to two more months.
Only after CMRS approval can commercial operations begin. With the monsoon now arriving and station construction still ongoing, November is the current official target — though residents on the ground are sceptical.
Several Thane commuters tracking the project closely have said they are not expecting even partial operations before mid-2027, with some pointing to the 2029 elections and suggesting the line will open “five to six months before the next election — that’s how it works."
Has It Taken This Long — And What Went Wrong?
The delays have stacked from multiple directions. Track-related work is largely complete, but station finishing — roofing, facades, flooring, external structure — has significantly lagged.
A commuter who travels daily between Majiwada and Patlipada and regularly observes the stations said: “From outside it looks completed, but from inside it is nowhere around 80 per cent complete. I expect still six months more."
Then in February 2026, a parapet slab collapsed near an under-construction Metro site on LBS Road in Mulund, killing one person and injuring three others. Though the contractors on that stretch were different from those handling Phase 1, the incident forced a broad rescheduling of ancillary works — pushing timelines back by at least two months.
Now the monsoon threatens to slow outdoor station work further. The Mogharpada car shed, critical for rake maintenance and increased frequency of operations, is also not expected to be ready in time.
MMRDA says temporary maintenance arrangements have been made along the corridor — but without the depot, scaling up services will remain constrained.
What Do People Living Along The Route Actually See?
Ground observations from residents paint a mixed picture. Track and signal work is done. But station construction at several points — including Kasarvadavali — is visibly ongoing.
Residents near Ghodbunder Road say work pace has already begun slowing with the onset of monsoon. “All the stations are incomplete," Sudhakar was quoted. “Flooring has been completed at some stations, but roofs, facades and other finishing work are nowhere near completion."
On social media, the viral videos of dust-covered rakes have drawn sharp reactions, with several users calling the September 2025 trial run an “election gimmick" — a sentiment that has grown louder with every missed deadline since.
Which Areas Will This Line Serve — And Who Is Waiting The Most?
Metro Line 4 runs 32.32 km between Wadala and Kasarvadavali. The 2.88-km Line 4A extension connects Kasarvadavali to Gaimukh. Together, they cover 32 stations across Thane’s most congested corridors. The project is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 15,498 crore.
Who Is Waiting — and Why
Key zones along Metro Lines 4 & 4A | Gaimukh to Wadala
| Area / Station Zone | Why Commuters Are Waiting |
|---|---|
| Ghodbunder Road (Kasarvadavali to Vijay Garden) | Among Thane’s worst bottlenecks; peak-hour commutes regularly cross 45 minutes for short distances |
| Cadbury Junction | Key interchange for Thane city commuters heading to Mumbai |
| Owale & Gaimukh | Fast-growing residential zones with no rail link currently |
| Kasarvadavali | Dense residential area; station construction still ongoing |
| Majiwada–Patlipada stretch | Heavy daily commuter load; residents tracking the project most closely |
| Wadala (Mumbai end) | Connects to Monorail, Central Railway, and Metro Lines 2B and 11 |
| LBS Road corridor | High-density mixed-use stretch with significant office and retail commuter load |
Source: MMRDA | Metro Lines 4 & 4A | Target operations: November 2026
Once operational, MMRDA projects daily ridership of over 13 lakh passengers by 2031, with travel time expected to fall by 50 to 75 per cent on key stretches.
This Really Going To Be India’s Longest Elevated Metro?
Metro Lines 4 and 4A are part of a planned 58-km elevated metro network running from CSMT and Wadala in south Mumbai to Mira Road in the north. Once all phases and extensions are complete — integrating with Metro Lines 5, 6, 10 and 11 — it is expected to become India’s longest elevated metro corridor, serving over 21 lakh commuters daily.
So Will Those Dusty Rakes Finally Start Running?
That is what lakhs of daily commuters stuck on Ghodbunder Road and LBS Road are waiting to find out. “Starting services even on a small stretch could have helped us travel in peace between Kasarvadavali and Cadbury Junction. Right now it takes 45 minutes or more during peak hours," said one daily commuter.
The RDSO certification, after 209 days, is real. The CMRS process is next. The monsoon is here. The depot is not ready. And November 2026 is the date MMRDA is now publicly committed to.
Thane’s commuters have seen enough flagging-offs to know a date only means something when trains are actually running — not just when rakes sit gathering dust on a highway above a city still stuck in traffic below.
Contact Us