India, Oct. 10 -- Ridership on Metro 3 (Aqua Line) nearly tripled to 146,087 as of 9 pm on Thursday, when the final phase of the underground corridor-from Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli to Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai-was opened to the public. With this, the entire 33.5-km line, from Aarey-JVLR to Cuffe Parade, is now fully operational.

Until Wednesday, when the line was operational only from Aarey-JVLR to Acharya Atre Chowk, the average daily ridership was 52,500, according to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL). After the final stretch was thrown open on Thursday, taking the metro line into the heart of south Mumbai, ridership had already touched 97,846 by 6 pm. This means over 48,000 people took the line between 6 pm and 9 pm, ...