Mumbai local train updates: Central Railway survey on 7th and 8th lines underway

In what could be termed a mega expansion plan for Mumbairsquos suburban railway network Central Railway CR has commenced a field survey for the proposed 7th and 8th rail lines between Parel and Kalyan The lines are part of a larger plan to create a futureready Parel Mega Terminus and to segregate national rail traffic from suburban operationsAccording to available details CRrsquos construction department began the survey on July 17 2024 for the 46km corridor between Parel and Kalyan The project is expected to be completed by October 2025Confirming the development a CR spokesperson said ldquoThese new lines are part of longterm planning A clear path will be made available between Kalyan and the upcoming Parel Mega Terminus to scale up outstation train operations The four national lines will run independently without interfering with suburban trafficrdquoCR is struggling to complete the 5th and 6th lines between Kurla and CSMTmdasha 34km stretch divided into two partsBeyond Kalyan work is already underway to expand the third and fourth lines In the ghat sections too additional lines are being laid to enhance capacityCurrently CR is struggling to complete the 5th and 6th lines between Kurla and CSMTmdasha 34km stretch divided into two parts The first is the 101km KurlandashParel segment where the proposed outstation terminus will be located The second extends from Parel to CSMTA spokesperson added ldquoWork is in progress on the 101km KurlandashParel stretch wherever land is available The Sion road overbridge is being reconstructed Harbour line platforms at Kurla will be elevated and the existing Harbour line tracks converted into the 5th and 6th lines to maintain continuityrdquoLand acquisition is ongoing at Swadeshi Mill and Dharavi in coordination with state authorities This includes mill land private property and BMC land The project originally included in the Mumbai Urban Transport Project MUTP 2B in 200910 was sanctioned in 2014 at a cost of R891 croreVoicesJagdeep Desai architect and chairperson Forum for Improving Quality of Life in MumbailsquoFuturistic planning is welcome but the railways must fasttrack pending projects With land scarcity future alignments may have to be underground or elevated Could timetables be updated to meet todayrsquos requirements Express trains are still running the same services with hardly any improvement in travel timeSuburban trains just keep adding coaches not speed Why not give the Universal or Cyclical Timetable a fair trial Why not make our throughtrains follow a hubandspoke system and completely revolutionise schedulingFor example have only chair cars for routes up to 500 km with trains reaching their destination within six hours These could start at 530 am or 630 am and return by 530 pm or 630 pm For distances between 500 and 1000 km trainsmdashcompletely sleeper classmdashshould take no more than 12 hours starting at the same times and reaching the next morningRoutes between 1000 and 1500 km should take a maximum of 15 hours arriving the next day by 830 or 930 am For routes above 1500 km it should be a 24hour capmdashboth ways Meanwhile the Railways can continue doubling and quadrupling linesrsquoVijay Aravamudhan rail enthusiast and commuterlsquoPlanning the 7th and 8th lines amid space constraints is optimistic and shows CRrsquos longterm thinking But current crossover speeds from one track to another at 15 kmph are far too slow With modern technology crossover speeds can be improved to 50 kmph Wersquove recommended shifting the Vidyavihar turnouts and tweaking interchanges at Mulund Thane Dombivli and Vikhroli for better efficiencyrsquoPlans in Mumbai Metropolitan RegionKasaraIgatpuri 4th and 5th lineAsangaonKasara 4th lineBadlapurKarjat 3rd4th lineKarjatLonavala 4th and 5th linePanvelRoha 3rd lineOct 2025Month project is expected to be completedatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params