Budget demand: Commuters push for Nilje and Chikloli railway stations

With the railway budget to be announced on Saturday, commuters travelling on central line, beyond Thane station, are hopeful that the proposal for a new station

With the railway budget to be announced on Saturday, commuters travelling on central line, beyond Thane station, are hopeful that the proposal for a new station and connectivity to Nilje station will get a boost.

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There has been a long-standing demand from commuters for Chikloli station between Badlapur and Ambernath and connectivity to the existing Nilje station between Diva and Kopar.

The Central Railway (CR) will have to lay a new track for Nilje station as this station is not on the existing mainline thus the project is facing obstacles, said railway officials.

Nilje is a station along the Diva-Panvel route.

Though Kopar station was constructed between Diva and Dombivli around a decade ago, Nilje connectivity will be beneficial to people residing near Shil phata where many plush residential townships have come up in the past few years.

If the two demands are met, it will ease the crowd at Dombivli, Badlapur and Ambernath stations, the commuters said.

Manohar Shelar, founder president, Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers’ Association, said, “Nilje is off city limits. However, in the past few years many construction projects have come up here. Connecting Nilje to the main CR line will help divert the crowd from Palava, Desai Nagar, Shil phata and the surrounding villages. This will help ease the crowd at Dombivli and Diva stations.”

Commuters and passenger associations have been demanding to make Nilje station into a terminus. This will make it convenient for commuters as well. Trains coming from Nilje to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) will come via Diva, thus providing additional trains between Diva and Thane.

“The new station will help ease 50% of the crowd from Dombivli station. The trains coming from Kalyan and Dombivli during morning peak hours come packed, making it difficult for Diva residents to get into the train. Additional trains coming from Nilje will make travel comfortable for commuters between Diva and Thane,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers’ Association.

In the last few years, major housing projects have come up in Shil Phata area. Most of the houses were sold with the promise of a new station near Shil Phata. No work to connect the main line on this station has begun while the crowd at Dombivli station has increased leading to regular accidents. In January, more than 10 people died in train accidents at Dombivli station.

Central Railway officials said the proposal will be difficult to implement.

Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, said, “Nilje station is on a different route. To connect it with the main line, we have to provide a cross track that comes in between the fast train tracks. This will disturb the timing of the fast trains on the main line. We already have the Diva-Panvel route. Commuters can use the route and change the trains at Diva to travel on the main line.”

The upcoming Vasai-Panvel route will also connect Nilje to the main line. Central Railway suggested that commuters can use this route as well.

Kaviraj Singh, 44, a resident of Nilje who spends 25 to 30 minutes to reach Dombivli station during peak hours from Shil phata, said, “Although we have road connectivity to Dombivli, Nilje is convenient to reach. Many have purchased flats in these areas as Nilje station was one of the future connectivity proposed.”

Contrary to Nilje, Chikloli station plan, which was pending since 2004, got approval from the CR last year. The station will be constructed between Ambernath and Badlapur. The distance between the two stations is around 10km as compared to the average distance of 2km between stations in Mumbai region.

The new stop is expected to ease crowd at Ambernath and Badlapur stations. Commuters travel from Chikloli to Ambernath or Badlapur.

“With affordable housing facilities at Ambernath and Badlapur, the crowd during evening peak hours has increased. The new station will ease the crowd and ensure that there is proper connectivity and public transport facilities for those at Chikloli,” said Sailesh Choitani, 38, resident of Badlapur and a regular commuter.

As per the plan, Chikloli station will be 4km from Ambernath, while the distance between Chikloli to Badlapur will be 6km. The budget for the new station is ₹1,750 crore while the station is slated to be completed by 2025.

“The proposal has been approved and the work to construct a proper platform and facilities at the station will begin soon. We will also have to lay extra track lines to provide separate track for mail and goods train as well,” said a CR official on condition of anonymity.

Accident on track is common because of crowded trains.

On December 16, 2019, a 22-year-old woman from Dombivli died after falling off from CSMT fast local between Kopar and Dombivli stations.