Many express trains to terminate at Thane, Panvel till Dec 12

Passengers at LTT, Kurla. File pic

As the work to boost the capacity of the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at Kurla begins, the Central Railway has decided to terminate several outstation trains at Thane and Panvel for a month. With Dadar and Mumbai CSMT saturated, two more platforms coming up at LTT in a year will boost Mumbai connectivity of express and passenger trains. Outstation trains will not need to wait in queues at Ghatkopar and Vidyavihar once the new platforms are in place. About 30 trains arrive at LTT every day and as many depart from the terminus daily.

"Work has already begun to add more trains from Kurla. Kurla terminus right now has five platforms and one island platform with tracks on either side is being constructed. They will be platforms six and seven. The building of these lines involves shifting of four stabling lines and hence a number of trains terminating and originating at Kurla have been shifted to Panvel and Thane till December 12," a senior railway official said. For capacity expansion, officials said, Kurla LTT is the preferred site due to ready availability of railway land.

Work underway at LLT, Kurla

In 2003, the Central Railway first expanded LTT after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) could no longer handle more express trains. In 2006, it was decided to further upgrade the station. The CR cleared the designs for the construction of a swanky station complex to replace the dilapidated terminus. The MMRDA also constructed a ramp from LTT to the newly built Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. The revamped terminus, spread over 50,000 sq meter with a 3,300-sqmt concourse was inaugurated in April 2013 by the then railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Also Read: Mumbai: No trains to CSMT next weekend

Some of the affected trains

£Thiruvananthapuram-LTT Netravati Exp (16346) - to be short-terminated at Panvel till Dec 11
£LTT-Thiruvananthapuram Exp (16345) - to short-originate from Panvel till Dec 13
£Mangaluru Central-LTT Matsyagandha Exp (12620) to be short-terminated at Panvel till Dec 11
£LTT-Mangaluru Central Exp (12619) to short-orginate from Panvel till Dec 12
£Kamakhya-LTT Exp (22512) on Nov 12, 19 and 26 and Dec 3 and 10 to be short-terminated at Thane
£LTT-Kamakhya Express (22511) journeys on Nov 15, 22, 29 and Dec 6 and 13 to short-originate from Thane

30
Trains arriving, leaving LTT everyday