Both Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) have witnessed a major increase in footfall of commuters over the past one year but the pace of most of their pending projects has not seen much change. The projects, mostly under Mumbai Urban Transport Plan (MUTP) II and III, are planned to increase frequency of train services and improve punctuality. Among the major projects, the fifth and sixth lines between Thane and Diva stations, extension of western harbour line to Goregaon station from Andheri, completing the sixth line between Mumbai Central and Borivali stations remain the priority. However, land acquisition issues, delayed funding and the need of mega blocks, are some of the reasons cited for the delay. “While the additional line for Diva station will be completed by December end, work on the Thane-Diva line can commence soon after. It will take at least a year for completion of the project. We will need to manage the connection work required on the line by taking the required permission for mega blocks from railway authorities,” said an official of the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), the body looking after important suburban projects. Watch What Else Is making News “All the above projects will help separate suburban services from express trains which can thus get independent lines for functioning. This will also add services for the railways as the system is congested. It could include services if the projects are completed at a faster pace,” a senior CR official said. On the other hand, the number of railway users witnessed an increase in areas farther from the island city. According to official statistics, ticket sales in the past one year at stations including Diva, Thane, Vidyavihar, Koparkhairane, Juinagar and Airoli remain higher than at other stations on the CR. For WR, stations including Nalasopara, Andheri. Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Kandivali and Malad record the highest ticket sales. “It has been two years since the extension till Goregaon station was proposed. It is a dire need as western harbour commuters need to change at Andheri for a train beyond, on the WR. We will also want authorities to increase frequency of services for the same,” said Satyen Mehta, a regular commuter. While the extension project between Andheri-Goregaon is stalled due to a few buildings near Jogeshwari station, officials confirmed quick completion of th project before March 2017. Also, razing a building remains on the cards before work on the line is started between Mumbai Central and Borivali stations. “The whole patch between Santacruz and Mahim stations becomes a menace for construction of any new line due to presence of slums around. Any construction work undertaken near the tracks receives flak from slum dwellers,” a senior WR official said. In September, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had asked the state and railway officials to have better co-ordination especially when it comes to land acquisition to expedite these projects and complete them. “After completion of fifth and sixth lines between Thane and Diva stations, we will be looking at making those between Kurla and Parel stations and later move towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)-Kurla. With the delay in completion of each project, construction cost also goes up which further escalates overall cost,” said a senior railway official. A significant improvement in elevating the present infrastructure conditions, tracks and signalling also must become priorities. “The reason why railways observe speed limits with services is because limitations exist as far as condition of tracks is concerned. Improper fencing, maintenance failures and failure in acquiring state-of-the-art rolling stock aggravates the congestion on suburban projects,” a senior Central Railway official said. “We have made every effort in expediting the present projects by giving every required help to the concerned authorities. The state government must also look at developing the road connection towards the interior areas in the suburbs and increasing Metro services,” said Ravinder Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway. Surveys on projects for those listed under MUTP III, like the suburban corridor between Panvel-Karjat stations and an elevated line between Airoli-Kalwa stations have been completed. The work on projects under MUTP III can only begin after sanction is received, while a nod on making the elevated corridors between CST-Panvel and Bandra-Virar could be looked at, and these determine the future of adding services involving minimal requirement of land.
