Mumbai: Local railway lines will soon extend to Diva, Vasai, Panvel

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The Mumbai local train network is set to get even wider. The Ministry of Railways has notified rail lines on the extended suburbs of Diva, Vasai and Panvel as a suburban local train corridor.

The decision not only opens up the possibility of seamless connectivity of existing local trains to these regions, but will also provide another link between Central and Western Railway, apart from Dadar and Wadala.

The railway board notified Diva-Vasai and Panvel-Diva as suburban sections on a permanent basis in a notification received earlier this week. Direct local trains could be run between Diva and Vasai. Central Railway has 78 suburban stations while Western Railway has 37 stations. The Panvel-Diva-Vasai section has nine stations, and will be CR's sixth suburban corridor in Mumbai, which will now take the total number of suburban stations in Mumbai to 124.

"The declaration of this section as suburban section will bring added benefits for commuters. Now, commuters can avail return, tourist tickets, etc. Plus, the infrastructure at the stations will also be upgraded," said CR's chief public relations officer Sunil Udasi.

Explaining what the change from a rail corridor to suburban one entails, a senior official said, "This means the line will have facilities at par with suburban railways, which includes advanced signalling for 12- and 15-car trains, upgraded stations and higher quality passenger amenities, more footbridges, escalators and elevators and announcement facilities." The platforms at the new stations will also be raised to equip them to handle EMU local trains.

The corridor will also help promote development in the region. A senior official said, "The catchment area is poised to grow tremendously in the coming decades. The availability of the proposed suburban corridor will act as a catalyst to spur the pace of development in the catchment area within the construction period."

Commuters can look forward to

• Seamless local train connectivity
• Upgraded station and passenger amenities
• More bridges and connectivity for stations

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