Work on Panvel terminus on track, says CR

With a lot of construction activity at Panvel railway station to upgrade it to a full-fledged terminus, commuters hope that the railways do not miss any more deadlines.

With a lot of construction activity at Panvel railway station to upgrade it to a full-fledged terminus, commuters hope that the railways do not miss any more deadlines.

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The work of three additional platforms and two foot overbridges at Panvel railway station will be complete in 18 months, said the Central Railway authorities.

The estimated budget for the project is ₹154 crore. While the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) is bearing two-third of the cost, the rest will be borne by the railways.

AK Jain, senior public relations officer (PRO), Central Railway, said, “The work is on and will be completed on time. As Panvel station is being upgraded to the terminus, there is a plan for multi-level parking for commuters.”

The railways will install four more escalators, and the work on two foot overbridges is also in progress. The Central Railway is also aiming to operate new trains of 24 coaches from the new terminus.

Panvel railway station sees more than 70,000 commuters every day.

Commuters have been complaining about the lack of infrastructure at the station.

“Though officials plan to upgrade the station, the immediate need is to solve parking issues and complete the work of foot overbridges. The two small staircases connecting the main bridge has solved the problem, but yet there is need of another foot overbridge,” said Sandhya Kadam, 38 a regular commuter who travels to Kurla every day.

“During peak hours, there is a lot of rush as there is only one foot overbridge to the platform. Another foot overbridge will ease the rush to a large extent,” said Kadam.

The railway official said the platform and foot overbridge work will be completed in phase I, while the construction of the parking lot on the station premises would be done in the second phase.

Panvel is an important junction of Central Railway as many outstation trains start, halt and terminate from here.

In the past few years, commuter count has increased at Panvel station.

With the new airport coming up nearby, many projects are coming up in Panvel.

Arun Bhise, a city-based activist, said, “The terminus work is going on but the railways should ensure that the work is completed on time. Panvel also needs more infrastructure to decongest the area near the station.”