Work on the sixth railway line between Mumbai Central and Borivali, which has been moving at a snail’s pace for over a decade, has picked up speed.
On Wednesday, the Western Railway (WR) began a 15-day block at Andheri station to align the tracks on platform 9. The stretch between Khar and Goregaon stations will be covered in the first phase.
The lines 5 and 6 on the Mumbai Central-Borivali stretch are meant to separate the long-distance trains from suburban ones. In the past the authorities had planned to link the fifth line from Mahim to Santacruz at a cost of ₹10 crore. However, locals opposed it, as it was to pass through a burial ground. Later, the alignment was made via Bandra terminus.
The project cost, when it was conceptualised in 2008, was around ₹430 crore which later shot up to ₹930 crore. The main reasons for delay in constructing the lines are the encroachments and the difficulty in acquiring the land.
Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer for WR, said, “There will be temporary changes in these 15 days during which trains will be operated on platform 8 instead of platform 9 at Andheri station.”
Among the trains that terminate on platform 9 but are extended till Churchgate are Dahanu-Andheri local that leaves at 6.05am and Bhayandar-Andheri local that departs at 4.45pm.
Meanwhile, workers have started stacking ballasts and machines have also been deployed.
“We have barricaded the area with fence. We expect the major work between Khar and Goregaon to be complete in the next two years,” a senior WR official said.
There are some 250-odd project affected people (PAP) that need to be shifted for the sixth line. Last February, WR acquired 444 square metre in Vile Parle and Borivali after demolishing more than 10-12 structures. It is also scouting for 19.5 square metre at Vile Parle and another 424.5 square metre between Goregaon and Borivali.
The construction of two lines was granted under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-2).
Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmhpbmR1c3RhbnRpbWVzLmNvbS9jaXRpZXMvbXVtYmFpLW5ld3Mvd3ItcHV0cy1tdW1iYWktY2VudHJhbC1ib3JpdmFsaS1saW5lLW9uLWZhc3QtdHJhY2stMTAxNjc0NjczOTg5NzcwLmh0bWzSAX1odHRwczovL3d3dy5oaW5kdXN0YW50aW1lcy5jb20vY2l0aWVzL211bWJhaS1uZXdzL3dyLXB1dHMtbXVtYmFpLWNlbnRyYWwtYm9yaXZhbGktbGluZS1vbi1mYXN0LXRyYWNrLTEwMTY3NDY3Mzk4OTc3MC1hbXAuaHRtbA?oc=5
