Railways approaches development body for elevated corridor project

After being involved in coordination issues due to which several projects have suffered, the railways has now approached the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority seeking assistance in its proposed elevated corridor project.

After being involved in coordination issues due to which several projects have suffered, the railways has now approached the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA seeking assistance in its proposed elevated corridor project.

According to Metropolitan Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad, RITES, which has bagged the contract to conduct a feasibility study for the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor, has written to the MMR8217;s development authority asking for crucial data and masterplan for the projects in the city.

8220;RITES have approached us for getting the data available with MMRDA. Since a detailed study of the transport patterns in Mumbai metropolitan region is available with MMRDA, it can provide vital details to the railways regarding the corridor. The RITES have also sought the Mumbai Metro Masterplan, which will help in coordination,8221; Gaikwad said.

The elevated corridor which was proposed by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in his 2008 budgetary speech, is presently in a detailed feasibility stage.

The officials at the MMRDA are looking at this as a good opportunity to bury the past and move ahead towards better coordination in order to work out projects faster. 8220;We8217;ll be starting to have rounds of meetings with the officials for sharing the data so that the projects can be finished with better coordination,8221; Gaikwad said.

The Mumbai Metro rail project has also been affected by the proposed elevated corridor which is expected to go over the existing suburban railway lines. The first Metro corridor which is under construction is designed to cross over from Andheri west to east over the railway lines, but the railways did not give a clearance to the General Agreement Drawings.

Though the railways had given an 8220;in principle nod8221; to the rail over bridge, they are yet to show a green signal for the work to begin. Later, the design was altered for the proposed elevated corridor to go over the metro line. The second metro rail corridor 8212; Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd, which is in bidding stages is also expected to suffer a delay as this corridor too will cross over the railway lines at Bandra.

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Another fallout of the ambitious project of the railways is that the MMRDA has put its Colaba-Bandra corridor on hold as it would not want to 8220;duplicate8221; rail lines at a huge cost.