The new suburban corridor link between Airoli-Kalwa (elevated) on the Central Railway (CR) network will not only decongest one of the biggest railway station of Thane but also directly connect Kalyan to Navi Mumbai. The sanctioned cost of this project is Rs 476.00 crore, with 35% of the work completed so far. The project is being executed by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC).
Under the project, a new station at Digha is being constructed which will be completed by end of this year. The station will have two platforms, with each being 270m long and 12m wide. There will be two lifts and four escalators, along with four underpasses for passengers. That there will also be ground-plus-two-storey structures on both sides of the station that would house booking offices and four ticket windows each.
In the second phase, the Kalwa elevated railway station will be constructed. An elevated route will then be connected to Digha railway station. Work on this will begin after the complete rehabilitation of over 1000 families. “Rehabilitation of project affected people (PAP) by MMRDA has already begun,” said an MRVC official.
Land acquisition
A total of 2.55hectares (ha) of land (0.67ha private and 1.88ha government-owned) in Kalwa and Airoli village are required for the project. Of this requirement, 1.95ha of land has been acquired and the process for acquisition of the remaining 0.60ha is in the advanced stages.
Progress of work
The work has been planned in two phases. Phase-I involves the development of the halt station at Digha which is in the advanced stage and is likely to be completed by December 2022. Work of the booking office, toilet block, overhead water tank and the retaining wall for the platform has been completed. Meanwhile, the bridge work, subway work, PF shelter and foundation work, and drainage works are in progress. Phase-II involves the construction of an elevated corridor between Airoli-Kalwa and the rehabilitation of PAP, which is likely to take three more years.
