Railway min Ashwini Vaishnaw highlights mega rail expansion plan during Mumbai visit

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during an inspection at CSMT. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday was in Mumbai to attend a non-railway event and visit Ganapati mandals in the Mumbai north east constituency. During his visit, he inspected the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus station and boarded the 2.34 pm Ambernath slow local, traveling to Bhandup station, accompanied by local MLA. mid-day joined the minister on the train. Here are excerpts from the Q&A:

What have been your observations in Mumbai today about local train travel?
I interacted with passengers at CSMT and onboard the local train, hearing their grievances. I also took an update on the work on CSMT station redevelopment and then travelled to Bhandup.

The crowds in Mumbai local have been increasing day by day. What is the blueprint for Mumbai local trains?
We have sanctioned an Rs 16,240 crore plan that includes 12 mega projects for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region area, which will not only boost the capacity of its network by building 301.5 additional km of track length but also double the existing services.

Besides Mumbai, what are the plans for the MMR region?
We are building a Vasai bypass Line, which has been sanctioned. At present, the engine needs to reverse and continue on its onward journey, but after this bypass is built, the reversal will be eliminated. The 6 km project is being built at a cost of Rs 176 crore. Then, there is a 29.6km Panvel-Karjat new rail corridor. Work on all of these is in various stages of construction and will be completed in the next few years.

What about the merger plan of Konkan Railways?
I am of firm belief that Konkan Railway has to merge with Indian Railways as early as possible and the process has to begin for a possible merger.