Central Railway unlikely to keep march ’17 deadline for 5th, 6th lines

Railway officials have said that relief for suburban commuters in the form of better punctuality is still a long way to go, what with the 5th and 6th lines unlikely to meet their March 2017 deadline even as most Mumbai Urban Transport Projects (MUTP) II are expected to be completed by that time.

On an average, nearly 15 to 20 trains are delayed every day on the CST-Kurla stretch when local trains have to halt to make way for outstation or long-distance trains on Central Railway (CR). Due to this reason, a separate corridor had been suggested on the same stretch as also a 5th and 6th line between Thane and Diva. “Work on the LTT to Thane section is going on at a good pace and will be completed by March 2017 but the same work between CST and Kurla seems to be taking a very long time,” said an official requesting anonymity.

The impact is particularly felt when commuters travel at times coinciding with the timings of long-distance trains. Banker Ashok Kamble (45) who travels from Kalwa to CST said, “Sometimes, it takes me nearly 20 minutes from Kurla to Matunga. This wasn’t the case when I used to travel as a youngster.”

Officials said this would continue till the railway ministry took a final call about separate lines’ alignment. “Now there are talks about taking the harbour line from Sandhurst to P. D’mello Road instead of CST and creating the space of two platforms required for outstation trains. But, at the same time, harbour itself is to undergo a change with extension of platforms to accommodate 12 coach trains as opposed to the current nine coach trains,” the official added.