The plan to widen the space occupied by rail lines in central Mumbai of Central Railway just received a shot in the arm after 14 years. In less than six months, the CR authorities expect to complete the process of land acquisition on the Kurla-Parel stretch which is the first phase of laying the 5th and 6th rail lines meant to segregate long-distance and suburban local trains.
The top officials from CR confirmed to Free Press Journal that they will complete the process of acquiring land for the 5-6 rail lines between Kurla and Parel by December this year.
A K Lahoti, General Manager, Central Railway, said that after completing land acquisition on the Kurla-Parel stretch for the 5-6 lines, which they expect to be done by December 2022, the CR will pave the way to begin the process of track laying.
Sources say that initial works have already begun in stretches like at Kurla for creating space for setting up the infrastructure required for the two new rail lines. "Once the land is readily available, we will be in a position to lay these two rail lines," said a senior CR official.
The CR requires four major parcels of land namely in Dharavi, Matunga and Kurla on this stretch. Earlier this year, the CR received land from National Textile Corporation for the 5-6 lines, which were paid around Rs 121 crore. The railway officials claim that at the remaining locations, they are hoping to land space by this year-end.
As far as the work on Parel-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), for constructing the 5-6 lines, the CR authorities are still working out the nitty-gritty with the Maharashtra government. Sources said that they are yet to receive permission from the state government for this phase on Parel-CSMT.
The railway officials said that the High-Level Committee consisting of bureaucrats from different agencies in state government and Indian Railways is working out details for bringing 5-6 lines to CSMT.
As part of this, the Harbour line will be shifted to P D'Mello Road which will also integrate with Metro rail coming there. This will also require shifting of project-affected people and land acquisition.
Meanwhile, in Kurla, an elevated station for the Harbour line is being constructed at a cost of Rs 125 crore. The elevated station at Kurla will have three lines – one for CSMT-bound trains, another for Mankhurd and Navi Mumbai-bound trains and a central double discharge platform for trains terminating at Kurla.
The existing Harbour line will be used as 5-6 lines. In 2008, this addition of 5-6 lines on CSMT-Kurla was approved under MUTP-2.
