10 level crossings between Kalyan-Karjat to be eliminated for faster movement of trains

Central Railway plans to close 10 level-crossing gates to improve local train punctuality, saving 8-10 minutes per trip with new road over bridges.

MUMBAI: In a major step towards improving the punctuality of local trains, Central Railway (CR) is set to discontinue 10 level-crossing (LC) gates between Kalyan and Karjat. Each LC gate, depending on the time of day, forces a train to halt for three to seven minutes till road vehicles finish crossing the tracks.

10 level crossings between Kalyan-Karjat to be eliminated for faster movement of trains

According to CR officials, four LC gates at Vangani, one in Neral, three in Bhivpuri and two in Karjat will be closed, in lieu of which road over bridges (ROBs) will be constructed. All these LC gates are on CR’s suburban rail corridor and hamper the smooth movement of trains. With their closure, trains on the Kalyan-Karjat/Khopoli section will save eight to 10 minutes on an average.

“We expect 10 new ROBs to be built at a cost of around ₹236 crore,” said a CR official. “We have already called for tenders to close the 10 LC gates and build ROBs which will help in further improving train operations.” The authorities will finalise contractors for the works by December.

Sources said that although the LC gates were at the far end of Mumbai’s suburban rail corridor, they impacted trains coming from Khopoli and Karjat towards CSMT. “These are smaller LC gates compared to others such as the one in Diva,” said another official. “Yet, they lead to unnecessary halting of trains. The problem amplifies during peak hours, and we experienced it during the recent remodelling of Karjat station.”

For instance, at any given time, at least one of the multiple LC gates at Vangani and Bhivpuri remains open, which forces trains to halt. The authorities are planning to close down all of them.

“It is good if the authorities are finally closing these age-old LC gates,” said Jitendra Vishe, a member of the Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers Association. “Over the years, the number of vehicles here has increased, and so the halt time of two or three minutes is too little for all the vehicles to cross the tracks. We have been demanding the closure of the gates for a long time since they lead to delays in trains.”

At present, Diva is one of the busiest stations on the CR suburban network, where around 70% to 75% of the 894 daily local train services halt. As a result, the level crossing at Diva which, on an average, is opened at least 39 times a day, impacts the trains substantially.

CR runs 240 suburban services daily on the CSMT-Karjat corridor. Sources said there were plans to increase the length of the trains to 15 cars. There are 14 stations on the South-East section—Vithalwadi, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, Badlapur, Vangani, Shelu, Bhivpuri, Karjat, Palasdari, Kelavali, Kalyan, Dolavali, Lowjee, and Khopoli—where platforms are being extended to accommodate these longer trains. Once the work is complete, the entire Thane-Kalyan-Karjat/Khopoli corridor will have local trains with an increased capacity of 25%.