Work on elevated station between Thane and Mulund to begin soon

The 10-year-old proposal to construct a new elevated railway station between Thane and Mulund may see light of the day.

The 10-year-old proposal to construct a new elevated railway station between Thane and Mulund may see light of the day.

A meeting was held between Thane civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal, mayor Sanjay More and member of Parliament Rajan Vichare with railway minister Suresh Prabhu this week. The minister assured them that the foundation stone for the station will be laid before Diwali this year, said Vichare (Praful Gangurde)

A meeting was held between Thane civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal, mayor Sanjay More and member of Parliament Rajan Vichare with railway minister Suresh Prabhu this week. The minister assured them that the foundation stone for the station will be laid before Diwali this year, said Vichare

The demand for a new railway station on the Thane Mental Hospital plot is almost a decade old. Last year, Prabhu surveyed the land and had asked the railway officials to submit a feasibility report for the station.

Sandeep Malvi, public relations officer of TMC, said, “We presented the railway station plan to Prabhu. A nodal officer from the Central Railway is appointed from Delhi who will work with our officers to prepare a detailed technical plan and design of the station. The minister has asked to submit this plan at the earliest so the work can be started at the earliest.”

The railway station will be developed on an 18-acre plot, which belonged to the health department.

Health minister Deepak Sawant had agreed to hand over the plot to the TMC.

The mental hospital has a plot of 40 acres. The municipal corporation had suggested to the health department to shift the hospital to a new premises and allot 18 acres for the new station. The plan to make the new station an elevated one was also suggested last year.

A senior railway officer, requesting anonymity, said, “On an average, there are 10 deaths on the central line. So, we had proposed that the elevated station be built in Thane. The railway minister has asked us to make a detailed project feasibility report for the station which we will submit soon.”

Vichare said the work on the station will soon begin. “The project feasibility report is ready which says that the project is technically viable. The railway minister has said the work will start before Diwali.”