Mumbai: The Central Railway (CR) plans to cancel almost 100 trains on the Harbour line for five days, between December 20 and December 25, in order to build an integral part of the Seawoods-Uran line. Officials have said that trains will be running from Panvel to Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) with a few cancellations, but most importantly trains originating from Belapur will run from Nerul instead due to the connection being made in and around the Belapur tunnel.
The 22.50-kilometre rail line will have 10 stations, including Seawoods, Sarsangam, Targhatr, Bamandongri, Kharkopar, Gavar, Ranjanpada, Nhava Sheva, Dronagiri and Uran. Officials are hoping that they will be able to run the line up to Kharkopar by March 2018.
Although the line is a long way from being fully operational, officials said that the work slated at Belapur is crucial for providing the track from where the train will divert towards Uran. An official said, “We are trying to minimise the effect on the common man, but the work is important as well.” He added that three out of the five days would be weekdays, which would be a problematic.”
Commuters like Rajesh Sharma, who travels from Panvel to Sewri, said, “I usually get down at Belapur and switch to the 9.06 am Belapur-CSMT train, as trains from Panvel are too crowded. But if the trains are starting from Nerul, there is already a lot of people that get in from here and trains from Panvel will get worse in terms of crowding.”
The change in time-table will also be made available for the commuters by the end of the coming week as the final details will be chalked out soon.
