The proposed 63-km long Oval Maidan-Virar Elevated Rail Corridor project has hit a dead end, with both the state government and the Railway Board having minimal discussion on its prospects. The shelving is becoming even more evident after the Railways submitted a report on the impact on the ridership of the elevated corridor due to the Colaba- Bandra-SPEEZ (Metro 3) and the Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd (Metro 2) corridors two months ago. “There was only a passing reference to the elevated corridor,” said two railway officers, after the meeting of Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board and state Chief Secretary, J S Saharia, on Monday. Requesting anonymity another officer said the Chairman has asked state government to give its comments on the impact assessment report submitted to it. The state government have asked for a fortnight to give its response. The officer said that there was no further discussion between the two authorities on the project. The impact assessment report states that there is an ‘overlap in catchment of elevated rail corridor with Metro-2 and Metro-3 making a case for terminating the railway corridor at Bandra.’ Both Metro-2 and Metro-3 are estimated to reduce the ridership of elevated rail corridor by 23 per cent. The report also suggests reworking the financial viability of the project for a shorter corridor between Bandra and Virar. The project, estimated to cost Rs. 22, 500 crore has been waiting for the state government’s approval for over two years. A senior railway officer said,”The Oval Maidan to Andheri alignment of the two corridors is parallel. There is an overlap as suggested by the ridership report. Besides, the state government is not comfortable with additional FSI for the railways to gain commercially from the elevated rail corridor. They want to use the real estate space for residential purpose, which the railway is not comfortable with, owing to government policies.” The project will be difficult to execute as the Oval Maidan Virar corridor is adjacent to the existing suburban corridor.
