Navi Mumbai stations prove handful for CIDCO

Maintenance costs of the stations in Navi Mumbai is four-times more than the amount required for railway stations on the Central Railway (CR) making it tough for the satellite city planner — City Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) to cope with its rising costs.Sources said that Cidco’s grand stations built back in the 1990s were made with the hope that it would attract people to migrate to the city. However, the number of such expansive stations between Vashi to Panvel and Vashi to Thane has gone up to 16, maintaining which is now causing the officials a lot of grief. “The CR spends around Rs1.5 to Rs 2.5 crore on stations that are relatively considered to have lesser footfall like Currey Road on the mainline or Chembur or the Harbour line, while Cidco has to spend around Rs 6 to Rs10 crore per station on an average per year,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The Navi Mumbai stations, which come under Cidco’s jurisdiction, lie from Vashi to Panvel and from Vashi to Airoli. All the stations have five platforms and built-in subways. “In 1992, when the first services from Mankhurd to Vashi had begun, commuters were impressed by the grandeur of Vashi and even CR officials were amazed to see a station of its kind in Mumbai. But the cost of maintaining these stations is expensive,” added the official.

Cidco has only one advantage over CR — the cost of each station’s maintenance varies to a great extent depending on whether it sees a high commuter footfall or not. “For example CR has to spend around Rs 60 crore as a yearly expenditure at Dadar since it requires a lot of man power like engineers, cleaners

and mechanical staff whereas about Rs 100 crore is spent on CST station annually. Cidco, on the other hand, has to spend approximately the same amount on all of its stations because they are almost identical,” said another official.

CR and Cidco’s negotiations on handing over the maintenance to the former had fallen through after CR had asked for an amount that was deemed unaffordable by Cidco.1.5 to Rs 2.5 crore on stations that are relatively considered to have lesser footfall like Currey Road on the mainline or Chembur or the Harbour line, while Cidco has to spend around Rs 6 to Rs 10 crore per station on an average per year,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The Navi Mumbai stations, which come under Cidco’s jurisdiction, lie from Vashi to Panvel and from Vashi to Airoli. All the stations have five platforms and built-in subways. “In 1992, when the first services from Mankhurd to Vashi had begun, commuters were impressed by the grandeur of Vashi and even CR officials were amazed to see a station of its kind in Mumbai. But the cost of maintaining these stations is expensive,” added the official.

Cidco has only one advantage over CR — the cost of each station’s maintenance varies to a great extent depending on whether it sees a high commuter footfall or not. “For example CR has to spend around Rs 60 crore as a yearly expenditure at Dadar since it requires a lot of man power like engineers, cleaners and mechanical staff whereas about Rs 100 crore is spent on CST station annually. Cidco, on the other hand, has to spend approximately the same amount on all of its stations because they are almost identical,” said another official.

CR and Cidco’s negotiations on handing over the maintenance to the former had fallen through after CR had asked for an amount that was deemed unaffordable by Cidco.