Three crucial lines dropped to study new Mumbai DP

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Three crucial Mumbai projects- the fast corridor for harbour line, a separate suburban corridor for Virar-Panvel and 19 AC local trains required for that -- have been dropped for review with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approving the Phase-III A of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project worth Rs 30,849 crore with completion cost of Rs.33690 crore, instead of the original cost of Rs 54,777. The project is likely to be completed in five years with a token amount of Rs 50 crore already allocated in the budget last month.

"There are numerous projects that are being simultaneously planned and approved which will have a massive impact on Mumbai. Also, various changes like Mumbai's new Development Plan 2034, the changing traffic patterns with numerous Metro lines criss-crossing each other, the Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor along with the Dedicated Freight Corridor all put together will have a significant impact on the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The two mega lines of CSMT-Panvel fast corridor and Panvel-Virar new corridor need more extensive traffic planning studies and intersection plannings," an official said.

The original project had 14 components, including a fast elevated corridor for harbour, Panvel Virar corridor, an extension of harbour from Goregaon to Borivli, additional lines, cab signalling, and 210 AC locals. Of these, the first two and 19 AC locals have beem dropped.

The CSMT-Panvel fast corridor was in a way getting duplicated with the extension of Wadala-Kasarwadivli Metro project to GPO and the Panvel Karjat corridor was planned as a new corridor for MMR connectivity, but the railways have now decided to upgrade the existing corridor and elevated it to suburban status.

The cost of the dropped projects covered under MUTP-3A include CSMT-Panvel elevated fast corridor (Rs 12,331 crore), the new Virar-Panvel corridor (Rs 7089 crore) and the procurement of 210 air-conditioned EMU trains (Rs 17,374 crore). Of the 210 air-conditioned trains, 19 have been dropped.

The MUTP-3A also includes the extension of Harbour line between Goregaon and Borivli, implementation of new Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system, introduction of two more lines between Borivli and Virar and the upgradation and modernisation of 16 suburban stations, which continues to remain.

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