Maharashtra’s most-delayed rail project ready, but awaits ribbon-cutting

The Uran railway line in Navi Mumbai with its five new stationsmdashGavhanpada Ranjanpada NhavaSheva Dronagiri and Uranmdashreceived approval from the Commissioner of Railway Safety to run passenger trains in midMarch However it has been awaiting a formal inauguration by politicians delaying the use of promised new lines and stationsOnce opened this line will bring significant benefits to local residents connecting them more efficiently to the main transport links in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai CityThe Uran railway line in Navi Mumbai will get five new stationsmdashGavhanpada Ranjanpada NhavaSheva Dronagiri and UranThe BelapurSeawoodUran Railway Project is a crucial initiative aimed at enhancing accessibility to the central part of Navi Mumbai from peripheral areas where development has been planned The introduction of this new line will greatly benefit the public and passengers Moreover the line will cater to the passenger traffic demands generated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port portbased industries in the vicinity ONGC the Defence establishment at Uran the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone NMSEZ and various residential industrial and warehousing complexes in the subregionThis project has faced significant delays as highlighted by midday in February 2021 The Central governmentrsquos infrastructure and project monitoring division of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation labelled it one of Maharashtrarsquos most delayed railway projects with a time overrun of 216 months equivalent to 18 years The project received approval in March 1996 and was originally scheduled for completion in March 2004 with an initial estimated cost of Rs 49544 croreThe projectrsquos cost is shared between the Railways and the City and Industrial Development Corporation CIDCO of the Maharashtra government Railways bear onethird of the cost while CIDCO covers twothirds maintaining a 6733 ratio Regarding the 27 km BelapurNerul Uran stretch the first phase a 124km double line up to Kharkopar was completed and commissioned on November 11 2018 Currently it operates with 40 services The remaining 1460 km from Kharkopar to Uran including five stations is expected to open soon The total project cost is approximately Rs 2900 croreCrowds could doubleAt the moment there are about 40 services running with an average of around 2000025000 commuters The line currently ends at KharkoparThe crowds are expected to double when the entire suburban corridor opens till UranDighe station waits tooFurthermore the newlyconstructed Dighe station on the transharbour corridor is part of the planned elevated corridor between Airoli and Kalwa connecting the Navi Mumbai transharbour line and the main line Located along the transharbour line adjacent to the Thane Belapur Road crossing over the ThaneVashi line Dighe station marks the starting point of the new elevated lineDighe station comprises two platforms each measuring 270 m in length and 12 m in width It is equipped with two lifts four escalators and four underpasses for passengersldquoThe monsoon is approaching Railway officials should not wait for a politician but should involve senior staff or local social workers to open the lines and stations As political leaders become occupied with numerous tasks they should set a precedent by opening public projects as early as possible for the greater benefit of the publicrdquo stated Manish N Koparkar of Navi Mumbai Pravasi SanghldquoPeople have been waiting for too long The project has already faced significant delays and they are not willing to wait any further Politicians are merely testing the patience of citizens and seem unconcerned about public convenience It is high time that such public projects are opened promptly upon obtaining all necessary clearances Public convenience should always take precedence over photo opportunities for politiciansrdquo said Subhash H Gupta of Rail Yatri ParishadWhile railway officials remained mum on the entire issue midday tried to reach out to Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve Patil but evoked no responseSanction ordersAccording to Commissioner of Railway Safety regulation 1302 if sanctioned work is not taken in hand within 12 months from date of sanction Commissioner of Railway Safety should be approached for renewal of sanctionRs 49544crEstimated project cost in 1996Rs 2900crTotal project cost by 20232004Year in which the project was to be completed