Trans harbour line eases rush at Kurla and Vashi

The trans-Harbour line connecting Navi Mumbai to Thane has been able to reduce the number of passengers boarding trains from Kurla, and services from Panvel and Nerul have reduced the load on Vashi, statistics shared by the Central Railway suggest.

The trans-Harbour line connecting Navi Mumbai to Thane has been able to reduce the number of passengers boarding trains from Kurla, and services from Panvel and Nerul have reduced the load on Vashi, statistics shared by the Central Railway suggest.

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The statistics also indicate that there is an increase in the number of passengers boarding from Thane, Nerul and Panvel.

The number of passengers boarding at Kurla station has decreased by 4.4%: from 4.85 crore in 2010-11 to 4.64 crore in 2009-10.

“The objective of the trans harbour line project was to reduce the load at Kurla. The line caters to the chemical industrial belt in Navi Mumbai that goes up to Thane,” said V Malgaonkar, Chief PRO of the Central Railway.

The reduction in the passengers travelling from Vashi is about 0.64%: from 1.93 crore in 2009-10 to 1.92 crore in 2010-11.

Thane has emerged as the most crowded station, with an increase of 4.7% in the number of passengers.

Services between Panvel to Thane and Nerul to Thane had started last year, which swelled the number of passengers by 6.10% in Panvel and 6.16% in Nerul.

The trans harbour line was started in 1993 to run goods trains between Turbhe and Kalwa. It was upgraded in 2004 to transport commuters till Thane.

Currently, 208 services run on the line originating from Panvel, Vashi, Belapur and Nerul.

Along with Thane the number of commuters boarding from Kanjurmarg has registered a 10.78% growth while Parel also showed about 10% growth. The number of passengers at Dadar has decreased by 3.75%.