Commuters’ demand to have Gurawali Station between Titwala and Khadavli rejected by Central Railway

The passenger association’s demand for a new Gurawali Station between Titwala and Khadavli railway stations was rejected by the Central Railway authority, who claimed that the station at the said location was not feasible

The passenger association’s demand for a new Gurawali Station between Titwala and Khadavli railway stations was rejected by the Central Railway authority, who claimed that the station at the said location was not feasible.

Commuters from Gurawali, which is between Titwala and Khadavli stations, have to travel for 30 to 40 minutes to reach Titwala. The demand to have Gurawali Station has been rejected by Central Railway, saying it is not feasible. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The demand for the station has been placed by the Upanagariya Railway Pravasi Mahasangh for the last several years as many living in Gurawali and travelling to Mumbai and other suburban cities for work find it difficult to board a local train either at Titwala or Khadavli. The population of this area has also increased over a period of time.

As per the passenger association, the demand for the Gurawali Station has been placed since 1966. However, after all these years, the CR has claimed that the project was not operationally feasible.

“If the new station is built between Titwala and Khadavli station, it will affect the running time of the trains and might also lead to cancellation of suburban trains. Considering this fact, the project cannot be considered. We have informed the passenger association that the new station is technically not feasible,” said an officer of Central Railway.

There is a distance of 8km-9km between these two stations and around 30 small villages including Gurawali lie between Titwala and Khadavli.

“What we have learnt from railways all these years is that they do not support any of the demands placed by the common public. None of us were invited when the railway carried out the feasibility study for their stations. After all these years, the railway simply rejected the idea of Gurawali Station,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the association.

Shyam Ubale, secretary of Kalyan Kasara Karjat Railway Passengers’ Association, added that the station would have helped many villages in these areas.

Sandesh Mhatre, 38, a commuter said, “I travel to work from Gurawali to Mumbai every day by local trains. Since there is no station in the village, it takes me 30 minutes to travel to Titwala station daily. The Gurawali Station would have saved this time.”