Budget allocates enough funds for MUTP: railway officials

Mumbai: Several key railway projects in the Mumbai region will be expedited with the Union Budget making sufficient provisions for the megapolis, railway officials said on Friday.

The budget has made a provision of Rs 584 crore for various phases of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP).

The interim budget presented by finance minister Piyush Goyal has allotted Rs 7,672 crore for the Central Railway in total, of which Rs 744 crore are for various transport projects. It will cover the Belapur-Seawood-Uran railway line project in the Mumbai region.

For the Western Railway, the budget has proposed allocation of Rs 6,128 crore to execute various existing projects. For Mumbai, these projects include construction of a second terminal at suburban Jogeshwari, bringing in 15-car local rakes and improvement in passenger amenities.

A provision of Rs 584 crore has ben made for works planned under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project. Mumbai is the headquarters of Central Railway and Western Railway.

 Railway projects in the city are executed by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a joint venture of the Railway ministry and the Maharashtra government.

"We have got Rs 584 crore to execute projects under the MUTP phase 2, phase 3 and phase 3A. The same amount will be contributed by the state government, which means we will be getting Rs 1,168 crore. This much funds are quite adequate for us," said the chairman and managing director MRVC, R S Khurana.

Major projects under the MUTP-3A include fast elevated corridor between CSMT Mumbai-Panvel, a new suburban corridor between Panvel-Virar, extension of the Harbour Line from Goregaon to Borivali, construction of 5th and 6th line between Borivali and Virar, 4th line between Kalyan-Asangaon and 3rd and 4th line between Kalyan and Badlapur.

Khurana said Rs 50 crore have been allocated for MUTP 3A, which means the state government will also provide Rs 50 crore, and a total of Rs 100 crore will be available.

"All these projects of MUTP-3A are under final consideration for sanction. As soon we get sanction, the work will start," Khurana told PTI. CR officials also expressed hope that they will not face a fund crunch.

Chief PRO of Central Railway Sunil Udasi said, "Like the past few years, we have got sufficient allocations. We will continue executing various projects as per target."

Western Railway chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said, "With the funds earmarked, we will be able to carry out different works such those related to track renewal, bridge safety, Integrated Security System, signalling and telecommunication."