The city’s first Metro rail trial run, for which a four-compartment train was procured last year, is likely to take place by December-end, after a delay of over a year, on the Versova-Andheri stretch. The train arrived last April from Shanghai, China, and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had planned a short trial run by August 15, after the city got a glimpse of the first monorail run on Republic Day the same year. “The exact date has not been decided, but there could be a trial run on the Versova-Andheri stretch by the year-end,” MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar said. The construction of the first Metro line, the 11.4-kilometre long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor, started in February 2008. Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd, a special purpose vehicle formed by Reliance Infrastructure, MMRDA and Veolia Transport are constructing the route. The second set of the Metro trains is expected to be shipped from China next month. “Just two-three days back, we were discussing the schedule of train arrival,” said SVR Srinivas, additional metropolitan commissioner. “Last month, we went to Shanghai to take a look at the trains.” Beijing-based CSR Nanjing won the contract to provide a total of 16 Metro trains to Mumbai. The new rakes will join the first train in the car shed spread over a 31-acre plot at Versova, near the proposed D N Nagar station. “The work on the car shed is about 60-70 per cent done and we don’t require it to be a 100 per cent complete in order to store the rakes,” Srinivas said. The main operational control room for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor will be situated in the car depot. “The tracks are being laid and will be ready. Now, only the finishing touches to the car shed are left,” Kawathkar said, adding the car shed should be completed by December.