Life on the Local: Parsik tunnel- an engineering marvel, ‘haunted’, target of revolutionaries
The tunnel is around 10 metres in width and six metres in height. It takes around 30 minutes to travel from Thane to Kalyan via the slow corridor, but on the fast corridor, via the Parsik tunnel, the same distance is covered in 20 minutes, a railway official said.
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The 1.2-km Parsik tunnel, one of the longest and oldest railway tunnels in the country, turned 102 years old this year. (Express Photo: Janak Rathod)
Written By: Anmol Alphonso
As fast trains cross Thane on the Central Railway, most commuters prefer not to make any phone call till they reach Dombivali. This is primarily due to network issues inside the 1.2 km Parsik tunnel — one of the longest and oldest railway tunnels in the country — that turned 102 years old this year. The tunnel has also fuelled legends about it being haunted, with Google searches prompting “Parsik tunnel ghost” as one of the first few options. Constructed by the British, the Parsik tunnel — which connects Thane to Kalyan — lies between Thane and Diva and cuts across the Parsik Hill.
The first railway line between Mumbai and Thane was opened for trains on April 16, 1853. “It was only after the tunnel was completed by the British in 1916 that the railways could be extended up to Kalyan and beyond,” a railway official said. “Engineers vouch that the tunnel is an engineering marvel as it would have been difficult to undertake such work in those days when technology was not so advanced. Though built a century ago, the tunnel has not witnessed instability,” said A K Jain, Central Railways PRO.
The tunnel is around 10 metres in width and six metres in height. It takes around 30 minutes to travel from Thane to Kalyan via the slow corridor, but on the fast corridor, via the Parsik tunnel, the same distance is covered in 20 minutes, a railway official said. Historian Sadashiv Tetvilkar said that the tunnel became famous after a plan to destroy it was foiled. “Some revolutionaries had planned to blow up the Parsik tunnel as it was constructed by the British. However, their plan was foiled and they were caught. Because of this, the tunnel had become quite famous amongst local residents,” he said.
Passing through the tunnel has become a part of everyday life for local residents. “My first experience with Parsik tunnel was 30 years ago, and it was amazing. It seemed like a tunnel straight out of the movies,” said Nilesh Ambedkar (48), a resident of Thane. “Kalwa Bridge and Parsik tunnel are the two iconic structures that have lasted since my childhood, and I used to go trekking on Parsik Hill,” he added.
Thakurli resident Saurav Bhagwat (32) said, “I associate the Parsik tunnel with suffocation and no mobile signal. Earlier, it used to be dark as there were a few yellow lights dotting the entire tunnel. Now, however, they have improved the lighting within the tunnel. I have also heard that several movies were shot here.” He added that the tunnel was now more filthy. “Earlier, trains zoomed past the tunnel. But now, due to encroachments and water leakage on the tracks due to poor drainage facility, the trains become slow and take a longer time to pass the tunnel,” he said.
Sunil Udasi, CPRO of Central Railways, says the tunnel is “absolutely safe”. “We regularly maintain the tunnel and are plugging the leakages that occur during the monsoon. The local bodies, the Railways and the police department recently removed the shanties in a joint operation,” he said.
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