Construction for the Metro Line 3 is underway. I only realized that they are building the underground metro system when I visited one of my favorite roads in Fort – Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road – and saw huge sections of this boulevard under construction. This road which runs from Hutatma Chowk to Crawford Market is one of the most beautiful roads in Fort. Named after Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917), a cotton trader and professor at the Elphinstone College, this road displays numerous buildings in the Neo-Gothic style of architecture which were constructed during the 1870s to 1890s. Unlike Metro Line 1 and the Monorail which opened in 2014 and are elevated this line will be Mumbai’s first underground metro system. It will connect Cuffe Parade in the south of the city with SEEPZ and Aarey in the north. The line will consist of 27 stations , including stations at Churchgate, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra Kurla Complex, Dharavi , Domestic Airport and International Airport. Between Dharavi and the Bandra Kurla Complex the line will pass underneath the Mithi River. The metro tunnel will be constructed beneath the river bed. The metro line 3 is supposed to open in […]

It’s fantastic to be back. It has been too long … I am taking it easy in the first couple of days as it always takes me time to adjust to the hot weather and the humidity, even though it is pretty nice and cool at the moment. It also takes me a while to get used to the Indian way of life – I am switching my brain from the Western world to the Indian world. I am staying in Colaba at the moment and in the last couple of days I have been walking around this area, Kala Ghoda and Fort. It is nice to see so many familiar places and faces. But some things have disappeared. What happened to the Hotel Majestic food hall and to the Search Word book shop on the Causeway? I will miss the food hall’s amazing masala dosas! There is also huge construction work going on on Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road. So the city is finally building it’s first underground metro system. I got a smart card for the local train and I managed to buy an Indian sim card (this always takes ages and really really tests my patience). I also […]
I took a trip to Manchester! I was working on #SubterraneanThoughts which was a lot of fun and I also used the time to explore Manchester. This interesting city has an industrial past that is closely connected to Mumbai. Both cities used to have a thriving cotton textile industry and a large number of workers were employed at the cotton mills. I visited the Museum of Science & Industry which has a fascinating exhibition that focuses on Manchester’s textile industry. Machinery such as hand looms, spinning mules and roving frames are on display. Twice a day the museum staff turn on the machines to demonstrate how they worked and to explain the spinning process. Very impressive and extremely loud. Spinning mule, Samuel Crompton https://www.msimanchester.org.uk/
It has been a long journey from visiting Mumbai for the first time in 2008 to finally getting very close to finishing and publishing my guide book Mumbai by bus and train. The countdown has begun! I am busy writing and I am getting ready for another long stay in amazing Mumbai to recheck information and do some more research in parts of the city that I have less often visited. Join me on this incredible journey and read about my exciting adventures here and on https://twitter.com/HellaStichlmair