Central Railway will be extending its Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) — Andheri and Panvel — Andheri train services till Goregaon. Work on a new timetable accommodating 22 pairs of services between CSMT and Andheri, and 9 pairs of services has already begun, reported TOI. The move is likely to benefit thousands of commuters on the extended line and railways officials believe it will also bring operational benefit for all Harbour services running on the Western Railway route.
The extension of 5.12 km Harbour track lines till Goregaon was commissioned in 2011 and the project got completed in 2018 with a total cost of Rs 214 crore. However, even 3 years later, regular services could not begin due to crew management issues on the Western and Central Railway.
The Andheri station earlier had a terminating platform beyond which the Harbour line train did not run, but now that the extension is complete and operational, the terminating platform has been discontinued. Operating Andheri services means that the train will first have to run on the down track and then return back up on the track to travel towards CSMT.
The Goregaon route extension will also benefit passengers from Ram Mandir, Jogeshwari and Malad stations. And if a large number of commuters on the Malad-Goregaon route shift to the Goregaon locals, it will also relieve Borivli-Kandivali commuters from the extra footfall of passengers.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has also started working on the extension of the Harbour lines till Borivali. The MRVC is likely to start work on the extension very soon and if all goes well, tenders could be floated in a few weeks.
The project will be executed by the Western Railways and will see the entire corridor built on the western side of existing rails. The Borivali extension is planned under the Mumbai Transport Project 3A at a total cost of 825.6 crores.
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