Metro Line 4/4A on Ghodbunder Road: Where the Phased Opening Stands Today
There is a particular kind of patience that residents of Ghodbunder Road have learned to practise over the past several years, watching pillars rise, viaducts stretch, and empty rakes glide silently over their heads long before a single paying passenger boards. That patience is now closer to being rewarded. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also handles the Urban Development portfolio, flagged off the trial run of Phase-1 of Metro Lines 4 and 4A, a moment that many along this corridor had waited years to witness.
Yet the gap between a ceremonial trial run and a fully ticketed service has proven wider than first hoped. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is now targeting November 2026 for the commencement of partial operation between Gaimukh and Cadbury Junction. The stretch is nearing completion, with nearly 90 per cent of the work already finished, though a series of delays over the past several months has pushed back the timeline for the start of passenger services. For a corridor that was once expected to welcome commuters by the end of 2025, this is a meaningful, if familiar, recalibration.
A few specific setbacks explain the slippage. The corridor was affected following the parapet slab collapse in Mulund on February 14th, which resulted in the death of one person, an incident that understandably slowed safety reviews across the line. Compounding this, while the Mogharpada car shed is not expected to be ready before services commence, temporary arrangements have been planned to facilitate the maintenance of metro trains operating on the corridor. In the meantime, metro rakes that were brought in for trial runs continue to remain stationed on the elevated tracks along Ghodbunder Road — a quiet, visible reminder that the finish line is near, even if not yet crossed.
For those tracking the map rather than the calendar, the first operational stretch matters most for the neighbourhoods it touches. The rollout will connect key Thane neighbourhoods and upcoming metro stations, including Cadbury Junction, Majiwada, Kapurbawdi, Manpada, Patlipada, Waghbil, Kavesar, Brahmand, Gaimukh, Owale, and Kasarvadavli. This is precisely the belt that has, over the last decade, transformed from a quiet arterial road into one of Thane's most sought-after residential addresses, and it is this belt that stands to gain first once trains finally start running.
Seen against the full scope of the project, the numbers are substantial. The 35.2-km Metro Lines 4 and 4A, involving an investment of ₹16,000 crore, will connect Wadala, Ghatkopar, and Mulund in Mumbai with Kasarvadavali and Gaimukh in Thane. Once the corridor is fully functional, the change in daily life for commuters could be dramatic: a journey that currently takes approximately 60-75 minutes between Wadala and Kasarvadavali could be reduced to 30-40 minutes by metro, freeing up hours each week for people who currently depend on the Eastern Express Highway or crowded suburban trains.
Officials have also been candid about the urgency behind the current push. Following a review meeting, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik asked all agencies to clear pending work on a war footing, with the immediate focus lying on metro station access, service roads and traffic management along the Thane and Ghodbunder Road stretches. This kind of administrative pressure, paired with the near-complete civil works, is why November 2026 is being treated as a credible milestone rather than another distant promise.
For homebuyers weighing a purchase along this corridor, the metro's progress is more than an infrastructure footnote — it is a genuine value driver. For Thane's real estate market, Metro Line-4/4A does more than add a new transport option; it reshapes how Ghodbunder Road and central Thane connect to Mumbai and the wider MMR. Established addresses close to this corridor, including Oberoi Realty's own developments at Pokhran Road No. 2 and Kolshet Road, sit within a catchment that stands to benefit directly as the line comes alive station by station.
What should a prospective buyer watch for next? The near-term markers to track are safety certification from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety, the readiness of temporary depot arrangements, and confirmation of which stations open in the first batch. Until those boxes are ticked, November 2026 remains a target — an encouraging one, backed by near-complete construction, but a target nonetheless for a corridor that has taught Thane residents the value of watching progress rather than promises.
