Forgotten rail land in Mumbai to be revived for more long-distance trains

Mumbai: An erstwhile parcel depot at Grant Road dating back to the British Era and a long-forgotten railway plot between Currey Road and Lower Parel stations are set for a new lease of life, with Western Railway (WR) planning to revive these two land parcels in the island city to create additional coaching, maintenance and stabling facilities for long-distance trains

Mumbai: An erstwhile parcel depot at Grant Road dating back to the British Era and a long-forgotten railway plot between Currey Road and Lower Parel stations are set for a new lease of life, with Western Railway (WR) planning to revive these two land parcels in the island city to create additional coaching, maintenance and stabling facilities for long-distance trains.

At Grant Road, a parcel depot built in 1890 on about 0.9 hectares of land will be redeveloped.

The project is likely to enable WR to add at least 10-15 long-distance trains to its network, according to officials familiar with the matter. WR will also get more parking space and maintenance facilities for its rakes.

At Grant Road, a parcel depot built in 1890 on about 0.9 hectares of land will be redeveloped. The site still bears the history of the goods-handling facility, which was operational until the early 1990s. Goods trains would arrive and depart from two terminal platforms at the site—one for inward and the other for outward traffic.

“Around six to eight goods trains would operate from the depot every day, carrying non-perishable commodities, perfumes, betel leaves, fruits, dry fruits, clothes and other merchandise. There used to be continuous movement of trucks and men,” said a WR official.

Much of the incoming material was distributed to markets in south Mumbai, including Crawford Market, Manish Market and Lamington Road. Goods meant for export were also transported onwards to the Mumbai port.

The site, at present, looks in a decrepit state. A few railway offices function from the premises with bare-bones manpower. Housed in three ground-plus-two-storey buildings that are in poor condition, the offices are strewn with old wooden tables and other unused furniture. There are disconnected landline telephones, their wires strewn about, while plenty of trees and plants in the vicinity have grown through the office walls. There’s also plenty of garbage, debris and filth accumulated at portions of the site.

An old, shut-down linen washing plant also stands on the premises, its rusted chimney still jutting into the skyline. There are also residential quarters for the ground staff working on tracks, with a handful of them staying in small rooms.

WR now plans to dismantle the existing tracks and dilapidated structures at the site, and construct 10 new stabling lines. A stabling line is a dedicated railway track used to park trains when they are not in service.

“The project includes new signalling, lighting and overhead equipment. A ground-plus-six-storey building is proposed. We will be developing maintenance depot and pit lines for washing of coaches and allied facilities,” said a WR official.

The redevelopment is expected to strengthen WR’s ability to handle the inspection, overhaul, and maintenance of coaches and provide additional parking space, officials said.

A similar exercise is planned between Curry Road and Lower Parel, wherein land belonging to Central Railway (CR) will be transferred to WR.

“It is the only viable location for creating additional pit-line capacity to support long-distance trains from both terminals, as there is no space for new pit lines at Dadar, and Mumbai Central has limited scope for expansion. The plan involves two 600-metre-long pit lines without cover sheds, six crossovers, new signals, OHE (overhead equipment) and lighting modifications, along with a ground-plus-three-storey maintenance office,” said another WR official.

A pit line is a track built over an underground trench that allows technicians to inspect, clean, and repair the undercarriage of train coaches.

WR will develop a coaching maintenance facility at this site, with the aim of boosting long-distance train operations from Dadar Terminus. Located about 2 km from Mumbai Central and 2.5 km from Dadar, the facility is expected to help feed primary coaching services to both railway stations and address the shortage of maintenance infrastructure that currently limits the introduction of additional long-distance services from Mumbai, officials said.