A deal meant to rescue the company running Mumbai’s first Metro line from its debts has collapsed, pushing it back into insolvency proceedings and leaving lakhs of commuters waiting indefinitely for longer trains.The Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), which runs the Versova-Ghatkopar Metro 1 line, had signed a debt-restructuring agreement that promised to ease its financial strain. That agreement has now fallen through.Operations on the line, which carries around five lakh passengers every weekday, will not be affected. But fresh insolvency proceedings could hit the company’s ability to expand its four-car trains to six-car trains, and the wait for longer trains is likely continue indefinitely.The Anil Ambani-led MMOPL owes Rs 2,771.32 crore to the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), a government-backed company that took over the loans given by Canara Bank, SBI and IDBI Bank. It owes another Rs 1,745 crore to India Infrastructure Finance Company (UK) Limited (IIFCL UK), its lender of foreign funds.In July, MMOPL announced a master restructuring agreement (MRA) with NARCL that would have brought down its debt owed to NARCL by Rs 1,100 crore, from Rs 2,700 crore. It came as a huge relief to a company functioning with the sword of insolvency over its head. “The restructuring will result in the withdrawal of the insolvency proceedings initiated against MMOPL,” the company had said in its regulatory filings. NARCL withdrew its insolvency petition in the days that followed. However, this deal needed the approval of the second lender, IIFC UK, and it did not come.On September 29, MMOPL told the Bombay Stock Exchange and SEBI that the restructuring had failed. “Further the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) (..) has revoked the restructuring in terms of the Master Restructuring Agreement (MRA) dated July 9, 2026 with MMOPL due to non fulfilment on one of the conditions precedent in the MRA on approval from IIFC,” the filing said.That same day, IIFC UK moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), starting fresh insolvency proceedings to have the company declared unable to pay its debts.Story continues below this adIf the proceedings continue, the company could eventually be auctioned and bought out. NARCL, which had withdrawn its petition on the condition of the restructuring, could also revive its case. Either way, insolvency or restructuring, the lenders would take a haircut, recovering less than they lent. Shyamantak Choudhury, CEO of MMOPL, official declined to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice. Years of debtMumbai’s first Metro line opened in 2014. It was built under a public-private partnership (PPP), with Reliance Infrastructure holding a 74 per cent stake and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) the remaining 26 per cent.The company began defaulting on April 1, 2018, unable to pay off its inflated construction costs and the interest that had piled up. Public transport is typically loss-making, as fare revenue rarely covers the heavy cost of construction.In 2023, Canara Bank, SBI and IDBI Bank began insolvency proceedings against MMOPL, but withdrew them in 2024 after handing their debt, by then a “non-performing asset”, to NARCL. The MMRDA had also considered buying out Reliance’s stake, but the state cabinet reversed the decision due to financial considerations. What it means for commutersStory continues below this adThe east-west line faces extreme crowding at peak hours. Its stations were built for longer trains, but the company’s finances have kept it from buying extra coaches.“The MMRDA has been pushing the MMOPL for the augmentation of the rakes, following which the company has been taking steps towards it,” said a source. “But with the restructuring falling out, it will prolong the procurement.”In a statement on Monday, MMOPL said it had begun the process of adding 22 coaches to “address peak hour congestion and cater to growing ridership.” This would lengthen at least 11 trains from four coaches to six, raising capacity from 1,178 to 1,792.But it came with a caveat. “An accelerated delivery schedule has been envisaged. However, progress of the procurement is contingent upon the ongoing financial restructuring and availability of funds. Timely financial support will therefore be critical to expedite procurement, commissioning and deployment of the additional capacity,” it said. That restructuring has, for now, collapsed.Story continues below this ad“At peak times, the overcrowding is so bad that the situation is a stampede waiting to happen,” said Dhaval Shah, co-founder of the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association (LOCA), which has campaigned for this for years. “Crowds from the other metro lines feed into Line 1, which goes along the residential areas in Andheri till the industrial and commercial areas in Marol, Sakinaka, etc. Even just the augmentation to six-car rakes will not solve the crowding; what metro needs is new metro rakes all with six coaches.”Commuter Shivam Vahia doubted the new coaches would ever arrive. “Line 1 will end up being the first in India to have a stampede/crush fatality. It is an obvious eventuality,” he said. He also questioned whether the Chinese manufacturer, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen, still makes the same coaches, since the new ones would have to fit with trains that are over 12 years old.An MMOPL official said there has been no further development on buying the new coaches.