Mumbai, April 9 -- The opening day of two newly launched Mumbai Metro lines drew sharply contrasting responses from commuters, with Line 2B (Mandale-Diamond Garden) being a damp squib, while Line 9 (Kashigaon-Dahisar East) was a runaway success. Both metro corridors were partially inaugurated by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday afternoon, even though the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had received statutory safety clearances over three months ago. On Metro Line 2B (Yellow Line), trains largely ran empty or carried passengers in single digits through the day. The currently operational 5.38-km stretch offers suburban rail connectivity only at Mankhurd station, limiting its utility. Services run at a frequency of one every nine-and-a-half minutes, with 209 trips daily. MMRDA officials said ridership is expected to improve once the line is extended to Chembur Naka, where it will offer an interchange with the Mumbai Monorail. In contrast, commuters in the western suburbs responded enthusiastically to Metro 9, an extension of Metro 7 (Dahisar East-Gundavali). Nimesh Kayal, a commuter, said the metro train he was in was running at full capacity, with every seat occupied. "It's a clear sign of how much this connectivity was needed," he said. "I was waiting for this metro to start operations," said Mira Road resident Varuna Tuteja. "I travel to Andheri for work. Today, I am exploring the connectivity to familiarise myself. Hereon, I will definitely be taking this line." However, the launch of the new metro line has impacted last-mile operators. Share-taxis and autorickshaws, which earlier ferried commuters from Mira-Bhayandar to the Dahisar East metro station, said they struggled to get passengers on Wednesday. Some of the share-taxi drivers headed over to the Kashigaon metro station to try their luck. Commuters also flagged teething issues on Metro 9, such as the lack of benches and very few dustbins on the platforms, and the absence of convenience stores at the concourse level. The integrated 19.79-km Metro 7 and 9 corridor will operate 276 trips on weekdays, 223 on Saturdays and 205 on Sundays. Services are scheduled every five-and-a-half minutes during peak hours and every eight to 10 minutes during non-peak periods....