Mumbai recently saw the launch of two new metro lines — line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar, Andheri West) and line 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East). While Mumbaikars are excited about riding in it, actress Nushrratt Bharuccha did an exclusive shoot with Bombay Times, and during that, she spoke about her love for train rides and how hopping on a metro is a great way to save time in a city like Mumbai that’s known for its traffic jams.

“It must be more than 10 years since I have travelled by public transport. While studying at Jai Hind College, I travelled from Santacruz to Churchgate. I remember I would have to let a few trains go by as getting in would be a struggle because of the crowd,” she said.

Talking about her first ride in the metro, Nushrratt shared, “This seems like a fun ride. The metro is so well-kept, clean and hygienic… travelling in it is an absolute pleasure. Also, this will help reduce crowd on the road as well as local trains, so taking the metro is a big plus. I would travel by trains while staying in Australia with my brother, and back then, I used to wonder why we didn’t have something like that. I am thrilled that our metro is of international standard.”

Going into flashback mode, Nushrratt says that despite the crowded journeys on local trains, she would love her travel time, something she doesn’t get to enjoy anymore. “I can’t really travel by public transport or trains anymore,” she says, adding, “But I have to admit that I have always loved travelling by trains. I feel a sense of sukoon in train travel. I can sit in a train and travel for hours. Those five years when I travelled from Santacruz to Churchgate, my parents would be worried. I would be so much at peace that sometimes I would doze off. My mother would keep calling me as she would be worried that I would miss my stop. Also, whenever I would fight with anyone, I would take a rickshaw to the station, hop into a train and go on a ride till I calmed down. So, train rides were like a stressbuster for me.”

Ask her whether she would consider hopping on the metro if she was running late for work, and she says, “Absolutely! I hate being late. But I feel that people don’t realize that being late isn’t a choice anymore. It’s now a by-product of living in Mumbai, as our roads are always jammed. So, if the solution is to take a metro to reach on time, I would mask up and hop on the metro.”