Two more tracks on Central Railway finally see progress

Mumbaikars travelling on the Central Railway’s (CR) mainline may finally have something to look forward to, as the dream of separating the track for fast locals and passenger trains may finally come true.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has given its approval to the CR to divert the Harbour line from Dockyard to

P D’Mello Road, thereby allowing the 5th and 6th line for passenger trains to be brought from Kurla to CST. This will give the officials a free reign to increase services on the fast corridor.

This decision was taken in the closed-door meeting held on April 21 among MMRDA, the state government and Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu.

The CR was unable to find enough land on its current mainline between CST and Kurla in order to lay down a separate track — 5th and 6th line, which would have exclusively run passenger trains coming in and out of CST. As a result, the CR had devised a new way in the Harbour line was diverted from Dockyard to CST and the line between Reay Road to CST was used for the passenger trains instead.

But this alternative too had reached a stalemate as the MMRDA had said that it had future plans to extend the Eastern Freeway, which currently ends at P D’Mello Road, all the way up to Jacob Circle at Agripada.

Senior railway officials present at the meeting said that in the meeting, the MMRDA with the Mr Prabhu and Mr Fadnavis said that currently they have no such plans and that the CR can go forward with its plan.

“The MMRDA was kind enough to tell us that the plan of extending the freeway to Jacob Circle has been put on hold for now and that the railway can go forward with shifting the Harbour to P D’Mello Road instead,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.