Phase 1 of Panvel railway terminus to be ready next year

The first phase of the work on Panvel railway terminus will be ready by 2019, according to sources in the Central Railway (CR).

The first phase of the work on Panvel railway terminus will be ready by 2019, according to sources in the Central Railway (CR).

Phase 1 includes construction of three new platforms, renovation of the existing ones, development of foot overbridges (FOBs) to connect all platforms, among others. (BACHCHAN KUMAR)

Phase 1 includes construction of three new platforms, renovation of the existing ones, development of foot overbridges (FOBs) to connect all platforms, among others.

So far, around 30% of the work has been completed, a senior official said. “We have decided to develop platform numbers 10, 11 and 12 in the first phase. The existing platforms will also have to be renovated and heightened to make it a proper terminus. All these works will be taken up in the first phase,” said AK Jain, public relations officer of the CR.

The CR and City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) will spend Rs104 crore on phase 1.

The estimated budget of the entire project is Rs154 crore. “Development of parking lots, new toilets and many other related works have been included in the second phase,” said Jain.

Once completed, the upcoming railway terminus will be a three-storey building with all required amenities such as VIP lounge, administrative blocks, subways, escalators among others.

Trains from almost all major cities of India will be available from this terminus and the residents of Navi Mumbai will be able to board trains from here without travelling to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).

The ambitious project of the Panvel terminus was flagged off by then Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu in May 2016. Apart from three new platforms, a dedicated line will also be laid from Panvel to Kalamboli to move coaches to a maintenance depot that will come up at the Panvel terminal.

Unused platforms being readied for new rly line

Unused platforms at some of the railway stations are being readied for the upcoming Seawoods-Nerul-Uran railway line.

The slab above the platform number six of Nerul station, which was been in dilapidated state for the past several years, has been repaired. The authorities have also been conducting excavation and levelling works near Belapur and Seawoods station.

The first phase of this line, which covers 8km of the total 22-km project (between Seawoods and Kharkopar station) will be ready by May, a senior officer said. “All works of phase 1 are going on smoothly and are likely to be completed within the next four to five months months. However, land acquisition could be a problem in phase 2,” said AK Jain public relations officer of the Central Railway.

The estimated cost of the project was Rs495 crore when it was first planned in mid-1990s. However, due to delays in implementations, the cost has gone up to Rs1,781 crore. While the railways will bear 33% of the total cost, Cidco will pay the remaining 67%.