Central Railway's (CR) recent proposal to terminate Harbour Line suburban services at Sandhurst Road and eliminate fast train halts at Byculla has sparked significant opposition from passengers' associations and experts .
"The changes are being considered to facilitate the extension of the fifth and sixth lines up to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)" said an official adding that this idea is still in its initial stage.
Former General Manager Of Central Railway On The New Plan
Criticizing the new idea of CR, Subodh Jain, former general manager of Central Railway and retired members of railway board said, " I am unable to appreciate the proposal of terminating harbour line at Sandhurst Road. The traffic on the harbour line is growing at much faster rate because of growth in Navi Mumbai and connectivity to Western suburbs. Assuming that 40,000 commuters will reach Sandhurst Road and board during peak hour is foolish"
According to sources, the proposed alterations are intended to make space for the extension of the fifth and sixth lines up to CSMT. Currently, the fifth and the sixth lines exist between Kalyan and LTT and the work of extension of the 5th 6th line up to Patel is on.
"To accommodate this, CR is considering halting Harbour Line services at Sandhurst Road and repurposing platforms 1 and 2 at CSMT and Masjid for mainline slow services. This would also involve demolishing fast corridor platforms at Byculla to create room for new tracks, which would result in the removal of fast train stoppages between CSMT and Dadar" said a senior railway.
Strong Objections Raised
Passengers' associations have also voiced strong objections to these proposals.
Subhash Gupta, Chairman of the Rail Yatri Parishad, also disapproved of the proposal, labelling it as "foolish" and calling for a reconsideration of alternative options.
Lata Agarde, Secretary of the Suburban Passengers Association, expressed strong concerns about the proposed termination of Harbour Line suburban services at Sandhurst Road. She highlighted that this move would significantly inconvenience commuters, particularly those travelling from Navi Mumbai. Agarde suggested that Central Railways reconsider relocating the Harbour Line services to the P D Mello Road side. Additionally, she criticized the plan to eliminate fast train stoppages at Byculla, arguing that it would worsen congestion at other stations. Agarde urged railway officials to re-visit Byculla station during peak hours to better understand the implications of their plan.
Siddhesh Desai a passenger activist, criticized the plan, suggesting that the termination of Harbour Line services at Sandhurst Road and the elimination of stoppage of fast train services at Byculla would disrupt commuter convenience. He urged the Railway authorities to explore alternative solutions.
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The fifth and sixth lines currently exist between Kalyan to LTT. The extension of the 5th and 6th lineup to Parel is on. The debate over their alignment between Parel and CSMT has been complicated by land acquisition issues, particularly the need for private land.
Previously, CR proposed an alternative alignment for the Harbour Line, which involved rerouting over the Eastern Freeway and terminating Harbour Line services at a deck on existing platforms 17 and 18 at CSMT. However, this plan was eventually scrapped.
