Direct rail commute between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Goregaon is expected to become a reality soon, railway officials said on Tuesday. This follows successful trial runs between Andheri and Goregaon on the Harbour Line. Local trains now run between CSMT and Andheri.
"The trial was successful. The Railway Board will inform us when to begin services till Goregaon," said Mukul Jain, divisional railway manager (Mumbai), Western Railway.
Officials said the Commissioner of Railway Safety has given the go-ahead for all passenger trains on the extended route. Over the past few days, the WR authorities were running motor trolleys on this rail line to inspect it. Physical checks of tracks and signalling system were being carried out. Boundary walls with a height of over 10 feet have been built along the 5-km stretch to curb trespassing.
Planning agency Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation completed the work on tracks and ballasts in December and handed them over to WR. Ram Mandir station was started mainly for the purpose of catering to the Harbour and Slow services.
"This will be good for commuters as they can travel all the way till CSMT from Goregaon which otherwise terminates at Andheri," said Kailash Verma, member, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.
WR will run only seven services initially, down from 20 proposed earlier, said sources. This apart, the Central Railway will also run services between CSMT and Goregaon.
The Harbour tracks at Jogeshwari have come up nearly half a kilometre from the existing station. MRVC has proposed to connect the points with an existing road overbridge.
This project was supposed to be ready in 2014, but met with opposition from locals. This project is part of the Rs 8,086 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project-2.
FUTURE PLAN
The Harbour Line is expected to be extended to allow trains from CSMT/Panvel to go right up to Borivali. This will boost connectivity till the ends of western suburbs, Navi Mumbai and south Mumbai. In this year’s Union Budget, this project worth Rs 826 crore got mention under MUTP-3A. The new line is expect to take at least 5 years from now. The railway authorities have begun demolishing slums, particularly near Malad and Kandivali for the two new lines. This new line is the reason why the elevated rail corridor on Bandra-Virar is likely to be scrapped.
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