Saturday 5 December, 2009

5-6th corridor between Thane-Kurla to be operative from March 2010

With CR Setting A March End Target To Make The 5-6th Lines Operative Between Thane-Kurla, Authorities Believe That It Could Result In More And Punctual Suburban Services On The Corridor

MUMBAI : If sources from the Central Railways (CR) are to be believed then the fast local commuters on the Thane-Kurla stretch may soon see a respite from delays on the suburban network because of long distance trains. The CR has set a March end deadline for completing and operating the Kurla-Thane- 5th and 6th additional pair of lines.

Starting of the 17-km long stretch will considerably ease the load from the existing network. The new set of additional tracks will cater exclusively to trains terminating and originating from LTT thereby clearing the block for running fast suburban trains between Thane and Kurla.

"The Phase-I Kurla-Bhandup (10 km) was approved in 1995-96 at a cost of Rs 136.45 crore and Phase II Bhandup-Thane (7 Km) in 1997-98 at a cost of Rs 89.18 crore. The total length of the project is 17 km. In Phase I and Phase II Rs. 166.98 crore have been spent up to March 09. The rate of return of the project is more than 14% and hence it is financially viable," informs a CR official.

Speaking of the delay, sources inform that the relocation of encroachments was to be done by MMRDA. "In the last 9 years, of the 3479 encroachments and 121 legal tenants, almost all of the impediments have been cleared for operating the new additional lines.

The obstacles included encroachments, legal tenants and even toilet blocks. When contacted, Shriniwas Mudgerikar, CPRO of Central Railways confirmed that the CR had set a March end deadline for commissioning of the 5-6 th lines.

"Diverting traffic on these lines will ease the load on the existing 3-4 th tracks. They will clear the decks for operating more fast trains to and from Thane-CST. However, we don't have any immediate plans to add more services.

The trains will be increased after the availability of the new rakes from MRVC," he added. He however also informed that beyond Thane, the long distance trains will be again diverted on the 3-4th lines until the stretch between Diva and Thane isn't completed.

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