Ram Mandir -- the new suburban station built between Jogeshwari and Goregaon on the Western line of the local train network here -- is likely to become operational within a week or two, officials said today.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 32 crore, this would be the 37th suburban station on the Churchgate-Dahanu Road route of Western Railways and would be soon thrown open to public.
"To facilitate passengers there, two elevated booking offices have been constructed at north and south FOB respectively. Besides two ATVMs have also been provided to the passengers," a Western Railway official said.
Currently, around 1.07 lakh passengers board the train at Jogeshwari while around 1.56 lakh people commute from Goregaon station, the official said.
This new station will be a boon to those living and working in the adjoining areas.
"The station is going to be huge relief for lakhs of office-goers and residents because they are currently dependent on bus or auto-rickshaw services for commute," said an officer from Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), which has been given the mandate to upgrade railway infrastructure in the metropolis.
This station would de-congest traffic by providing direct connectivity to commercial hubs in the east, including Oracle Financial Service, Oberai Mall, Sadhana Industrial State, TCS, Nirlon Knowledge Park and many more, he said.
The Ram Mandir station with four platforms is located at 25.51 kms from Churchgate station, 1.39 kms from Goregaon Station and 1.99 kms from Jogeshwari station.
Giving a peek into the making of this new station, officer said the paper work for Ram Mandir started in 2006 with a deadline to complete it by 2009, but it took almost six years to clear the institutional hurdles and actual construction could commence in the middle of 2012 only.
Now all the finishing touches have been given to the newly built station besides getting approval from state government to name it as Ram Mandir Station. This could be operational very soon in coming days - may be within a week or two, said Ravindra Bhakar, Chief PRO of WR.
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