Andheri-Goregaon extension project delayed by 6 months

The extension will add services and frequency on the western harbour line for commuters travelling up to Goregaon. Officials said that while the project had reached its final stage this month, a wrong estimation of a technical detail of the track in the initial proposal has delayed the work.

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“Out of the two platforms at Jogeshwari station, the one on the western side was going to be dismantled and the track was supposed to get slewed further.

However, an erroneous measurement of space available towards the western side of the track has led to a re-calculation of the entire schedule, the final plan of which is awaiting a nod from the executing agency,” said a senior Western Railway (WR) official.

In the first phase of the project being executed by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation ( MRVC), the Ram Mandir station between Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations was to be constructed, which would take the commuter load off from each of the two stations. In the second phase, the island platform at Jogeshwari station would be broken and tracks would be laid till Goregaon station.

“The down line at Jogeshwari station has a double discharge. Over the past few weeks, railway authorities have demolished parts of platform 1 on the western side to accommodate the two new Harbour lines. But it still hasn’t opened up enough space,” said the official.

“While we had planned to increase the width of the island platform by 2.5 metres, we have realized it can only be increased till 0.8 metres. In the execution stage, we realized there is hardly any space to extend the platform and slew the lines further which is causing inconvenience to commuters. We are now awaiting a final revised plan from the MRVC which will indicate how the fault needs to be corrected. After the lines are laid in a couple of months, the extension can be decided in the next phase,” added the official.

Confirming the delay in the completion of the project, a senior official from MRVC said, “The project will miss its deadline of March. We are making a revised proposal to suit the design of the station,” he said.

In the new suburban timetable of Western Railway(WR), at least 17-18 trains will be dedicated for the western harbour route after the project is completed.

However, officials hinted at a major mega-block on WR to complete the platform extension work.

“As tracks need to be slewed, we will have to suspend service in down slow direction at Jogeshwari station temporarily. For a period of fifteen days at least, all fast track Virar-bound trains will stop at Jogeshwari station till the track work is completed,” added the official.