Railway officials for underground link

Sources said the link could be an underground route as it would be the easiest option. “The RITES is already doing a feasibility study on an elevated corridor between Virar and Churchgate. The terms of reference also include extension to the CST and Nariman Point. We are yet to receive the final report,” said Western Railway general manager Ravindra Nath Verma.  

However,senior officers feel that the elevated corridor project would not be ideal for the CST-Churchgate link. “There are several heritage structures in the area and having an elevated railway would be difficult,” said Subodh Jain,chief administrative officer (Constructions),WR.

Interestingly,the CST station itself would a major hurdle to the project as the UNESCO had conferred it the world heritage status. Now,even if the project works out,the underground link would be possible only through the Carnac Bunder area,without damaging the heritage structure. “The Churchgate station should not have any heritage issues. The underground line can be taken to Cross Maidan and from there,to CST,” Jain said. “It all depends on the RITES decision.”

Railway officials said the project should be completed soon as the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) also has a proposal for a Metro Line from Colaba to Bandra. The Colaba-Mahalaxmi stretch of this would be underground. “In such a case,the CST-Churchgate link project could suffer,” a railway officer said.

A recent meeting in New Delhi,which was attended by the officials of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) and state government,had discussed the suggestions made by WS Atkin’s report in 1994 and urban planning expert Shirish Patel to connect these stations.