New, improved CR stations a reality soon in Mumbai

Your commute on the suburban section of the CR is likely to get faster and more comfortable in the next three years, as the construction of two additional lines between Kurla and CST is likely to start soon.

Your commute on the suburban section of the Central Railway (CR) is likely to get faster and more comfortable in the next three years, as the construction of two additional lines between Kurla and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) is likely to start soon.

The Rs. 924-crore project, which got the final nod from the railway board on Monday evening, comprises fifth and sixth lines for long-distance trains, upgradation of Parel station and construction of an elevated Kurla harbour line platform. In the first phase, the administration plans to focus on completion of the Kurla-Parel stretch, for which the deadline is three years.

“The work on the Kurla-Parel stretch doesn’t involve land acquisition. The upgradation of Parel station could create an origination and termination point for suburban services, from where both fast and slow trains could be operated. This should provide a huge relief to commuters,” said Sunil Kumar Sood, CR general manager.

The tenders would be floated by next month and the work is likely to be commissioned by January 2015, said an official.

Envisioned in 1999, the project has been delayed for want of several approvals from the railway board for more than 15 years, a period in which its cost has tripled from the earlier Rs332.95crore. As part of the upgrade, Parel will get an additional 15-car island platform, from where new trains can be introduced. All platforms at the station will be widened by 10m, while platform number 1 will be extended towards the CST-end to provide additional connectivity to the Elphinstone road overbridge (ROB).

At Kurla, the fifth and sixth line will be connected to the existing harbour line. To facilitate this, the harbour line platform number 7 and 8 will be elevated by 8-9m, and will be modelled on the lines of Sandhurst Road and Cotton Green station.

Commuter activist Aniket Ghamandi said, “Ideally, the project should have been ready in 2015, but it is yet to be commissioned. If infrastructure upgradation work goes at this speed, we will continue to lag behind.”