Virar-Dahanu rail project ready

The Virar-Dahanu suburban train section is finally complete, the railways announced on Thursday. The railways will now begin trial runs and start direct suburban train services between Churchgate-Dahanu in the next few months, reports Rajendra Aklekar.

The Virar-Dahanu suburban train section is finally complete, the railways announced on Thursday.

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The railways will now begin trial runs and start direct suburban train services between Churchgate-Dahanu in the next few months.

The railways completed the last of the technical work between Boisar and Palghar section on February 3.

“We have completed all work and the section is ready to run suburban trains. We have now handed it over to the Western Railway, who will take a decision on when to start running trains till Dahanu,” said P.C. Sehgal, managing director, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation.

“Trials will now begin and the commissioner of railway safety will have to give his green signal. Some small works on bridges and culverts are being completed, but they can be done even as services begin,” he added.

The 60-km stretch between Virar and Dahanu has seven stations: Vaitarna, Saphale, Kelve Road, Palghar, Umroli, Boisar and Vangaon.

This Rs 55-crore project will expedite the development of the rural belt and help exploit the area commercially. The land adjacent to the highway has already been booked by construction groups and government organisations.

The direct trains between Churchgate and Dahanu stations will improve connectivity in the Mumbai Metropoli-tan Region, and also eliminate the need to change trains.

WR officials said they will start more trains for Dahanu from Virar and Andheri as Churchgate station is saturated. “We will try to convert a few Virar trains into Dahanu trains giving direct connectivity,” said a railway official, requesting anonymity.