Centre sanctions Badlapur–Karjat third and fourth lines under MUTP-3B

The Ministry of Railways has sanctioned the construction of the third and fourth railway lines between Badlapur and Karjat under the Mumbai Urban Transport Projectndash3B MUTP3B following approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic AffairsThe project which has already received consent from the Maharashtra Government will be executed by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation MRVC and involves quadrupling the 3246km suburban rail section between Badlapur and KarjatThe new lines will run alongside the existing alignment and cover six key suburban stationsmdashBadlapur Vangani Shelu Neral Bhivpuri Road and Karjat About 3779 hectares of private land will be required in addition to government and railway land The project cost has been pegged at Rs 1324 crore to be shared equally between the Maharashtra Government and the Ministry of Railways through Gross Budgetary SupportDesigned to boost capacity on the MumbaindashChennai High Density Route the project aims to ease congestion on one of Indiarsquos busiest rail corridors which supports heavy suburban traffic and growing freight movement linked to upcoming ports logistics hubs and expanding nodes in the Mumbai Metropolitan RegionRailway officials said the quadrupling will allow better segregation of suburban and mainline train operations reduce congestion at stations improve scheduling flexibility for longdistance services and enhance passenger safety through boundary protection and station mobility upgradesCommenting on the development Vilas S Wadekar chairman and managing director MRVC Ltd said the project would enable complete segregation of mainline and suburban traffic in the KalyanndashKarjat sectionldquoThe additional lines will support smoother movement of suburban commuters and longdistance passengers while also enabling efficient freight operations on this highdensity corridorrdquo said WadekarThe project is expected to be completed within three to four years after land acquisitionRailways promises 700 more local trains double express services for MumbaiFollowing an onground assessment of all the ongoing projects in Mumbai the Railways has promised 700 additional suburban services and the doubling of express trains for Mumbai in the next three to five years The assessments are a part of the larger plan for 48 major cities which includes planned proposed or already sanctioned works to achieve the goal of doubling trainhandling capacity in a timebound mannerWhile the Central Railway CR has identified Mumbai Pune and Nagpur the Western Railway WR has identified six major cities including Mumbai Surat Vadodara Ahmedabad Ujjain and Indore for its expansion of services ldquoWersquore expanding coaching terminals in key cities to meet rising passenger demand and reduce congestion This move will upgrade the railway network and significantly improve nationwide connectivityrdquo Ashwini Vaishnaw minister for railways saidThe works for doubling the originating capacity by 2030 would include upgrading the current terminals with additional platforms stabling lines pit lines and adequate shunting facilities identifying and creating new terminals in and around the urban area maintenance facilities including mega coaching complexes and increasing the sectional capacity with traffic facility works signalling upgrades and multitracking required for handling increased trains at various points