MRVC-MMRDA plan to expand suburban network

Mumbai: Routes that traditionally see heavy footfall like CST-Panvel, Churchgate-Virar and CST-Dombivli/ Diva/ Kalyan will be decongested and commuters will get more breathing space, as railway planners Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) will be joining hands with the city planners Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to expand the suburban network to far off areas. These suburbs will be Virar-Alibaug, on Panvel-Karjat connecting up to Rasayani and finally the Uran-Pen line, completing the CST-Seawoods-Uran loop.

The MMRDA in a planning report from 2016-36 has suggested that the railways look into expansion of the suburban lines into these lines in order to provide Mumbaikars the option to migrate with regards to housing and employment. An MRVC official said, “We have hit a saturation point in the suburban network, we have not been able to increase services in areas where we see the heaviest footfalls like CST- Kalyan.” “So we have no option but to look beyond far-off suburbs,” he added.

MRVC chief managing director, Prabhat Sahai, said, “Yes, these lines have been proposed by the MMRDA in their own city plan, a few of the lines were already proposed by the railways as well.” He further added, “The railways will be combining both of the ideas for decongestion of suburban railways, which is finally the ultimate aim of all our projects.”

Plans underway
Panvel-Karjat line: Will connect stations like Diva and Vasai. The Rs 2,618 project would be taken to the next level with the Rasayani to Chowk line. Chowk, which lies on the Karjat road, will go all the way to Rasayani.
Virar-Alibaug: The project will be an important interconnection for the Panvel-Karjat-Rasayni line but will also been a boon to the quadrupling of railway line between Virar-Dahanu.
Uran-Pen: Seawoods to Uran line is already under construction and has a deadline of 2018. MMRDA plan picks up from where the line ends, connecting Uran to Pen as a suburban corridor.