New rail corridors on the cards

The proposal has been sent to the Maharashtra government for the addition of the two new rail lines on the Asangaon-Kasara and Badlapur-Karjat corridors, and a 60-km-long new suburban line between Panvel and Vasai, a railway official said

Mumbai: The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has proposed new rail corridors along the existing lines on the Kalyan-Kasara and Kalyan-Karjat corridors to segregate Mumbai’s suburban rail network from the long-distance trains. The ₹15,000 crore plan for the new rail corridors in the metropolitan region is set to separate the rail network meant for local trains on the Central Railway (CR).

Mumbai... 02 May 2012.... News... Trains on all the tracks are halted due to the technical problem between Churchgate and Marine Lines station causing half an hour delay for local trains on Western Railway in the evening on Wednesday... HT photo by Mahendra Parikh (Hindustan Times)

The proposal has been sent to the Maharashtra government for the addition of the two new rail lines on the Asangaon-Kasara and Badlapur-Karjat corridors, and a 60-km-long new suburban line between Panvel and Vasai, a railway official said.

These have been pooled under phase 3B of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), with an aim to strengthen the mass transit system in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar and Kalyan regions.

“The purpose of MUTP 3B is 100% segregation of the mainline and the suburban. These three corridors are what is left to be planned. At present, the Panvel to Vasai is a mainline that is used by long-distance and MEMU trains. The proposed new corridor on Panvel-Vasai will be for local trains,” said a senior rail official.

The authorities have also planned two elevated rail flyovers from Vasai, one each towards Virar and Borivali.

The clearance for the projects is expected to see light in the coming months.