New locals, terminuses, signalling system: Ashwini Vaishnaw’s sops for Mumbai

At least 250 suburban local train services will be added on the central and western lines over the next five years, which would benefit around 75 lakh commuters

Mumbai: A day after the railway budget was presented as part of the union budget, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday laid out a blueprint for Mumbai and its metropolitan region, saying at least 250 suburban local train services would be added on the central and western lines over the next five years, which would benefit around 75 lakh daily commuters.

NEW DELHI, INDIA - JULY 24: Minister of Railways,Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks during a press conference at Rail Bhawan,in New Delhi India on July 24,2024. (HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The headway or time gap between two suburban trains will also be brought down and the Churchgate-Virar corridor will be equipped with a communication-based train control (CBTC) system to prevent mishaps, said the rail minister.

“We are working on technological advancements which will help in reducing the headway between two trains from 180 seconds to 150 seconds. This will enable us to run at least 250 additional services in the next five years,” Vaishnaw told reporters on Wednesday.

Though it has not been decided how the 250 services would be divided between CR and WR, the plan to add these services is based on future projects such as the quadrupling of railway tracks between Virar and Dahanu, additional lines between Mumbai Central and Borivali as well as Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and the new Karjat-Panvel suburban corridor. Currently, WR and CR together operate around 3,200 daily suburban services.

New signalling system

Vaishnaw said the Churchgate-Virar corridor, including the fast and slow lines, will be equipped with a communication-based train control (CBTC), wherein signal devices are placed along rail tracks and trains and signals turn red, yellow or green based on the distance between two trains. Such a system is in place on the metro rail network.

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) had proposed CBTC for the Churchgate-Virar, CSMT-Kalyan and CSMT-Panvel corridors nearly a decade ago, under the third phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-3A). The estimated cost of installation was then pegged at ₹5,500 crore, including ₹2,600 crore for the Churchgate-Virar corridor.

Senior officials from Western Railway said the project had been revived now and a proposal was likely to be submitted to the Railway Board soon, though there is no clarity on the cost factor yet.

New Terminals

Mumbai will get four new rail terminuses catering to long-distance trains to ensure these trains don’t enter the city, Vaishnaw told reporters on Wednesday. “The whole idea is to not only ease pressure from the existing terminuses and segregate long distance train movements but also avoid bringing them into Mumbai,” said a senior railway official.

CR and WR authorities said the new terminuses – located at Jogeshwari, Vasai, Kalyan and Panvel-Kalamboli – are in various stages of development. “The Jogeshwari terminus, being built at a cost of ₹76 crore, will be ready by this financial year. It will have capacity to operate eight pairs of trains,” the railway official said. “Although train routes are decided by the railway ministry, we are hoping the new terminus will accommodate trains to Konkan and northern India as the demand is huge,” the official added.

The terminus at Vasai, being built at a cost of ₹162 crore, will have two platforms that can accommodate 16 trains in addition to a maintenance hub. The terminuses at Kalyan and Panvel-Kalamboli, being built at a cost of ₹850 crore and ₹228 crore respectively, will also cater to long-distance trains.

Unions of railway employees welcomed the announcements but said they amounted to very little in the face of cutbacks in safety budget and posts. “There is no clarity in the budget regarding safety. Neither has the ban on creation of new posts in safety categories been withdrawn although new tracks and assets justify additional posts”, said Dr M Raghavaiah, general secretary, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen.