Mumbai, May 26 (IANS): The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation has awarded the contract for the operation and maintenance of Mumbai's first fully underground Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro Line 3 to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, an official said here on Friday.

The DMRC bagged the prestigious contract for 10 years after a global competitive bidding process in which it emerged as the lowest successful bidder, marking a significant milestone to make the Line 3 operational soon.

The DMRC is considered a pioneer in the Metro Railway sector in India, having successfully operated and maintained the Delhi Metro for over two decades.

Vide the contract, DMRC will be responsible for all the day-to-day operations including the OCC, DCC, stations, running of trains, maintaining the trains and all the metro systems infrastructure and ensuring safety of passengers, under the Key Performance Indicators.

MMRC Managing Director Ashwini Bhide said the O&M comprises a crucial component for any metro and the MMRC is committed to provide safe, comfortable, reliable and high-quality but cost-effective services to the passengers.

However, MMRC will continue to perform other duties like the revenue management, multimodal integration, business and brand management, public relations, legal compliances, non-fare box revenues, debt-servicing, coordination with regulatory authorities, etc.