The delay in completion of road bridges by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) now promises to be a dampener on the new 5th and 6th lines between Diva and Thane. While the railways are expected to finish work and start trains on the new lines by January 2022, two road crossings across tracks that hamper rail traffic at Kalwa and Diva are proving to be a bane.

The closure of the bigger culprit—one of the most crucial level crossing gates at Kalwa that delays half the trains on Central Railway every day—that was to happen in October, has now been further pushed back by a month due to the TMC's delay in completion of the approaches.