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Public holiday, no cancellation of services make railway commuting easier as Diva 5th-6th lines project nears completion
Twelve years after the Diva fifth and sixth lines project was sanctioned, the work would finally be completed by Monday midnight, claimed Central railway; the additional lines would separate the long distance and suburban trains, giving a room for more suburban services and minimising delays; public holiday and no cancellation of services made commuting easier on Monday
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Twelve years after the Diva fifth and sixth lines project was sanctioned, the work would finally be completed by Monday midnight, claimed Central Railway. The additional lines would separate the long distance and suburban trains, giving a room for more suburban services and minimising delays.
Despite the 72-hour block, there was no cancellation of services on Monday. Thus, unlike Saturday, the trains were not overcrowded, claimed commuters. Monday being a national holiday to mourn the demise of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar also eased the commuter’s woes.
The Thane-Diva fifth and sixth lines were sanctioned in 2008-09 with equal cost sharing between the Ministry of Railways and the Government of Maharashtra. The work of cut and connection of lines on this section was carried out by operating various blocks earlier. A total of five mega blocks was operated for the commissioning of the fifth and sixth lines between Thane and Diva railway stations, with the 72-hour block being the last.
“There was no cancellation of suburban trains on Monday. The trains were running on both the slow and fast corridors. The work on the existing Up fast line has been completed. The remaining work for fifth and sixth lines is going on and will be completed by the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday as per schedule. The existing Down and Up fast lines between Thane and Diva via Parsik tunnel will be commissioned as the fifth and sixth lines,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief PRO, CR.
The work was carried out in phases by operating several blocks. The fifth and the final 72-hour block was imposed for cut and connection works, and commissioning of new RRI (route relay interlocking) building in Diva for signalling arrangements on the existing fifth and sixth lines between Thane and Diva.
Lata Argade, general secretary, Suburban Railway Commuters Association, said, “The situation was completely under control on Monday due to the public holiday. However, what we have noticed is that the railways should have informed about this block at least a month in advance. Many who have reserved tickets for some events were affected due to the block as they had to look for last-minute changes. There is a need to have better planning and implementation of such big projects to ensure the common public is not affected like the way people were affected on the first day of the block.”
Abhijit Sudhakar Pawar, a 35-year-old commuter who travels daily from Thakurli to Ghatkopar for work, said, “On Saturday, the commute was very bad because of the block as the trains were not on time and the stations were crowded. Since Monday was a public holiday, there was no rush and also the trains were on time.”
SALIENT FEATURES (5TH-6TH LINES BETWEEN THANE AND DIVA):
** 19km length (UP and DN)
** 4 stations – Thane, Kalwa, Mumbra and Diva
** 6 platforms and 8 Foot Over Bridges
** 1.4km-long rail flyover, 3 major bridges, 21 minor bridges
** 170m long tunnel
