Old Mahim platforms to make way for two new rail tracks

Work in progress to pull down the old up fast and harbour platforms at Mahim

The Western Railway has begun the process of pulling down two old platforms at Mahim railway station to make way for the new 5th and 6th lines to segregate national trains. "Two old platforms at Mahim station that were not in use are being pulled down. One was for up fast trains but trains do not halt there at present, and the other is an old harbour line platform, which has been out of use after a new one was constructed a few years ago. The work is being executed very carefully without any disturbance to existing traffic, a senior official said.

"Two new rail lines will come up in the space of these platforms and after all the lines are commissioned together, the missing link of the 5th line will come in place," he added. The 5th line has a missing link between Mahim and Khar while the sixth line is an entirely new line between Mumbai Central and Borivli. The cost of the work is Rs 918.53 crore and is set to be completed by March 2024.

The two-line corridor is being built for national trains so that four lines can be dedicated to local trains with two parallel corridors, one for slow and the other for fast. This will not only help decongest the network, but also create more slots for additional trains. Meanwhile, the work to expand the third and fourth line beyond Virar is already under works and another corridor is also being built for harbour line trains. "Once this happens there will be minimal criss-cross of national trains and even harbour line trains on the WR suburban corridor," the official added.