For lakhs of people who frequent Shirdi, here’s some good news. Direct connectivity with the sacred place will be established from various parts of the country by February.
For lakhs of people who frequent Shirdi, here’s some good news. After several missed deadlines, direct connectivity with the sacred place will be established from various parts of the country by February after commissioner of railway safety Sudhir Kumar gives a nod to the new rail line between Puntamba and Shirdi.
Currently, Central Railway (CR) operates train No. 1333 which goes from Mumbai to Ahmednagar via Daund up to Manmad. People normally alight at Manmad and travel to Shirdi by road. After the commissioning of the Puntamba-Shirdi link, this train will halt at Puntamba (which is before Manmad) and from there go right up to Shirdi which is 17.8 kms from Puntamba. However, it will take over 12 hours to reach Shirdi.
Instead of this longer route, CR is contemplating introducing a train which will go to Manmad via Igatpuri. From Manmad it will be taken to Puntamba and then Shirdi. This will definitely be a shorter route enabling people to reach Shirdi within six hours.
“We have lakhs of devotees coming from across the country on all days, especially Thursday to Sunday. We have urged railway minister Lalu Yadav to provide direct connectivity to Shirdi from New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai,” said Jayant Sasane, president of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.
Sanctioned in 2000-01 at a cost of Rs30.22 crore, the project gained momentum only in January last year when the crucial portion of land was acquired. The project cost has escalated to over Rs78 crore.
CR has laid tracks on the new Puntamba-Shirdi broad gauge line (17.8 kms), constructed three road-under-bridges, 41 bridges besides constructing station building at Shirdi and officers quarters near the station.
“We are busy completing the last bit of the works before the station is commissioned. The station building at Shirdi will have waiting halls, pay-and-use pilgrim dormitory, cloakroom, toilets besides other facilities like booking windows, public utility stalls, etc.
A 500-m-long platform has been constructed which can take 22-coach trains,” said KK Sharma, chief administrative officer (construction) of CR. The station building has been designed on the lines of Sai Baba’s temple at Shirdi as it is an attraction for lakhs of devotees who visit the temple.
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