CR-CIDCO squabble over Harbour line infrastructure upkeep

For now, CIDCO maintains the stations beyond Vashi, but wants to handover their responsibility to the CR. However, CR wants CIDCO to first finish the necessary repairs and upkeep

MUMBAI: Nearly three decades after the suburban rail network was expanded to include Navi Mumbai, the Central Railway (CR) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) are discussing who will take over the upkeep of the railway station and other infrastructure along the Vashi-Panvel corridor. For now, CIDCO maintains the stations beyond Vashi, but wants to handover their responsibility to the CR. However, CR wants CIDCO to first finish the necessary repairs and upkeep.

The Harbour line of the CR, constructed in the early 1990s, sees nearly 1.2-1.4 million daily commuters, with a majority of them traveling from the Vashi and Panvel areas. (PTI)

The Harbour line of the CR, constructed in the early 1990s, sees nearly 1.2-1.4 million daily commuters, with a majority of them traveling from the Vashi and Panvel areas. Key railway stations of the region include Belapur, Kharghar, Juinagar, Sanpada on Harbour line and Ghansoli, Airoli, Rabale and others on the Trans-harbour line along the Thane-Vashi-Panvel corridor.

The discussions between the two agencies began around three months ago. A CR official said that the agency has been asked to take charge of the stations in as-is condition. “The station premises include buildings built over the platforms and the passenger area which are already 20-25 years old and need necessary upkeep and repairs. We have asked CIDCO to carry them out before handing the stations over,” added the CR official.

Commuters pointed out that several aspects of the stations need repairs including platforms with broken tiles, the subways connecting platforms, ventilation roofs, lighting and electrical connections and other passenger amenities. Pankaj Benvanshi, a resident of Belapur and a daily commuter on the Harbour line said that the current toilets in the station are far from the platforms and badly maintained. “There is a need to construct toilets closer to the station premises. Regular cleanliness is also an issue,” said Benvanshi. Sources requesting anonymity said that handing over these railway stations to the CR could improve their conditions and maintenance.

According to CR officials, many railway stations on the Vashi-Panvel corridor house office buildings. These stations were considered to be one of the first commercial business districts (CBD) to be developed on the railway station premises. While the stations’ upkeep was to be handed over to the CR right after their construction, CR officials said that since these CBDs were earning profits for CIDCO, the handover was delayed.

“Now, 25 years later, these buildings are being handed over. So we have asked them (CIDCO) to form a joint team which will carry out a thorough structural inspection of the stations, its buildings, and the necessary infrastructure around,” said another CR official. Officials added that the two agencies had also discussed the difficulty of carrying out repair work on the platforms without disturbing train operations.

CR officials added that CIDCO continues to levy a surcharge on rail tickets on the Harbour and Trans Harbour lines. The surcharge, applicable on all types of tickets, amounts to nearly a monthly average of ₹5 crore. CR officials said that in this financial year which began in April, they have paid CIDCO over ₹25 crore.

Sources at CIDCO, responding to the hue and cry over the fees, said that they have been levying surcharges to recover the cost of building the railway infrastructure in Navi Mumbai over the years. They added that the surcharge was not just to make up for the cost of the Vashi bridge, but also the nearby infrastructure for the railway lines.

CIDCO officials did not respond to messages and calls from HT.