There is a big bonanza for about 7 million Mumbai railway passengers as the railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has proposed a slew of initiatives in the railway budget for 2012-13.
In a bid to ease the pressure on suburban railway system due to rising passenger flow, the minister has proposed 75 additional services, 1,500 new coaches for Mumbai local trains, expansion of suburban rail networks and addition of more services in Mumbai.
The minister has proposed elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar and the plan of which is being currently firmed. Twelve-car trains are proposed on harbour line for Navi Mumbai where a new international airport is being currently developed. A new double line work of Belapur-Seawood-Uran is in progress, which will provide direct connectivity to JNPT.
According to the minister, an elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar is being firmed up. The proposed rail corridor will be executed through PPP model in coordination with the the government of Maharashtra. The project will enable introduction of premium AC suburban rail services. A pre-feasibility survey for a similar corridor between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kalyan (55 km) is also proposed to be taken up in due course.
A new coaching complex in Navi Mumbai at Panvel and coach maintenance complex at Kalamboli in partnership with the government of Maharashtra through City and Industrial Development Corporation are also planned. This will facilitate direct connectivity of Navi Mumbai to other parts of the country.
Further, electrification on Indian Railways had its advent with the introduction of 1,500 volt DC traction system in Mumbai area during 1925 to 1929 for running of suburban services. The system had outlived its utility and required replacement to the modern 25,000 volt AC system.The task of conversion from DC to AC has been successfully achieved on the entire Western Railway portion.
The minister said that similar conversion will be completed during 2012-13 on the Central Railway portion which extends to Pune. This will give significant benefits by way of higher speeds, reduced journey time and substantial savings in operational costs.
The minister said the flagship Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) phase-I has already been completed with the investment of Rs 4,500 crore with the cooperation of Government of Maharashtra and other stakeholders. Rail users in Mumbai have been benefitted with the induction of 1,500 electric multiple unit (RMU) coaches, thus increasing the carrying capacity by 35% and thereby reducing the congestion and overcrowding during peak hours.
The work on MUTP phase II at a cost of Rs 5,300 crore is also progressing and its completion will further boost the suburban transport services in Mumbai. A road map for MUTP III has been prepared to further strengthen and augment the suburban rail infrastructure and Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) would carry out feasibility study for construction of faster corridors on CST (main)-Panvel and Virai-Vasai-Diva-Panvel sections through innovative financing mechanisms.
The proposed 72-km link between Virar-Panvel third line in the PPP model will open new avenues for development of northern part of Mumbai and facilitate commuters to transit between eastern and western parts of the city. Feasibility of services from Panvel to Navi Mumbai airport will also be examined.