Western Railway 5th line to have 36 peak hour services

Commuters on Western Railway (WR) have something to look forward as the railway plans to run during peak hours 36 fast services between Khar and Virar on the fifth line within the next three months.

The WR increased only two services during peak hours towards Churchgate in October this year, but was not able to do anything more owing to saturation of the line. However, officials said that the fifth line would be functional as a result of which, services could be made available to commuters.

WR divisional railway manager Mukul Jain said, “We will be able to run around three rakes both during morning and evening peak hours. One rake gives us around 12 services, hence we will be able to run 36 services between Khar and Virar and thus, it will be a big relief for commuters.”

The fifth line has been delayed by nearly a decade with the most recent issue being that the railway could not remove shops that were on the alignment as owners were unwilling to negotiate with the railway. “The issues have almost been resolved. So, we are hopeful that the line will be operational within three months.”

The 5th line project is extremely important, as it will provide the railway an additional line to run new services. WR has not increased services for the last two years with commuter groups demanding additional services. Other officials said that the plan for new services had been finalised only now and would be announced as part of the budget in February next year.