With Mumbai's Atal Setu, long-pending railway projects were launched too

PM Modi commissioning the Uran-Kharkopar line. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Long-pending projects like the Uran-Kharkopar railway line and Digha Gaon suburban station are among infra projects that were finally opened to the public at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. With the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and suburban railway station, Uran now has connectivity from multiple ends. There was a minor faceoff between BJP and Uddhav Sena workers, but they were dispersed.

"During the programme, the PM dedicated about R2,000-crore-worth railway projects to the nation. These include Phase 2 of the Uran-Kharkopar railway line which will enhance connectivity to Navi Mumbai as suburban services running between Nerul/Belapur to Kharkopar will now be extended to Uran.

PM Modi also flagged off the inaugural run of the EMU train from Uran railway station to Kharkopar. Other rail projects include a new suburban station ‘Digha Gaon' on the Thane-Vashi/Panvel Trans-Harbour Line and the new 6th line between Khar Road and Goregaon railway station. The projects will benefit thousands of daily commuters in Mumbai," a CR spokesperson said.

Terming the Belapur-Seawood-Uran rail line as the ‘Port Line', the Railway Board had on November 8, 2023, sanctioned the opening of the Kharkopar-Uran suburban railway, approving the running of up to 40 local train services. The Port Line will be the newest addition to the suburban railway network in Mumbai, in addition to various other lines, including Harbour Line, Main Line and Trans-Harbour Line. The Belapur-Seawood-Uran rail project has been an important project to improve the accessibility of the central parts of Navi Mumbai from other peripheral areas of the region where development has been planned.

With four new stations - Gavhanpada, Ranjanpada, Nhava-Sheva, Dronagiri and Uran - the railway line was approved fit to run passenger trains by the commissioner of railway safety in mid-March 2023, but the commissioning was delayed. Once opened, the line will bring local residents in the area closer to the main transport links of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai city.

The line will also cater to the passenger traffic demands generated by Jawaharlal Nehru Port, port-based industries to come up in the vicinity, ONGC, the defence establishment at Uran, Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ) and other residential, industrial and warehousing complexes developed and under development in the sub-region.

mid-day had highlighted in May 2023 how the Uran-Kharkopar line, which has been Maharashtra's most-delayed rail project was ready, but had been awaiting ribbon-cutting. In February 2021, mid-day wrote about how the project had been labelled one of the most delayed railway projects in Maharashtra, with a "time overrun of 216 months which is 18 years" by the central government's infrastructure and project monitoring division of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The date of approval of the project was March 1996, with an original deadline of March 2004, and original project cost of R495.44 crore. The project is being done on a cost-sharing basis with CIDCO. One-third cost of the project is borne by the Railways and two-thirds of the cost by CIDCO in a 67:33 ratio. Of the 27-km-long Belapur/Nerul-Uran stretch, Phase 1 of the 12.4-km-long double-line is complete till Kharkopar and was commissioned on November 11, 2018, operating 40 services at present.

The remaining 14.60 km portion from Kharkopar to Uran with four stations is set to open soon. The total project cost has been approximately R2,900 crore.
The other much-awaited project of Dighe Gaon station has also been due for quite some time. The newly constructed station on the Trans-Harbour corridor is a part of the elevated corridor that has been planned between Airoli and Kalwa to facilitate a link between the Trans-Harbour Line and the Main Line.

The station along the Trans-Harbour Line just adjacent to the point where the Thane-Belapur Road crosses over the Thane-Vashi line, has been planned between Thane and Airoli stations and is the point from where the new elevated line will start. The station has two platforms, each 270 metres long and 12 metres wide. There are two lifts and four escalators along with four underpasses for the passengers.

March 2004
Original deadline for Uran-Kharkopar line

Highlights

Kharkopar-Uran Phase-ll
New 14.60-km-long double-line section of the Kharkopar-Uran stretch, part of the 27-km-long Belapur-Seawood-Uran project at a total cost of Rs 2973.35 crore, is to open for public use soon. Phase 2 has been commissioned at a cost of Rs 1,433 crore. The section with four new stations - Shemtikhar, Nava Sheva, Dronagiri and Uran - comprises 1 important bridge, 2 major bridges, 39 minor bridges, 3 road overbridges and 3 road underbridges.
Benefits
40 suburban services running between Nerul/Belapur-Kharkopar to be extended to Uran, enhancing connectivity to the SEZ area and Navi Mumbai from January 13
These extended EMU train services will help students, traders and daily commuters by providing an affordable and eco-friendly mode of transportation

Opening of Digha Gaon railway station
Digha Gaon station on the Thane-Vashi/Panvel Trans-Harbour Line between Thane and Airoli (3.2 km from Thane and 2.6 km from Airoli) is part of the Airoli-Kalva elevated corridor. Work was carried out by MRVC under MUTP-II scheme. It is a station with state-of-the-art infrastructure and modern passenger amenities. The cost of Digha Gaon station is approximately Rs 90 crore.
Benefits
Opening the new station at Digha Gaon will benefit thousands of people from the area who currently have no choice but to travel either to Thane or Airoli. The Trans-Harbour line suburban services will start halting at this station, once the station is opened. All Trans-Harbour Line Suburban Services to halt at Digha Gaon Railway Station from January 13

New 6th rail line between Khar & Goregaon
The project built at a cost of Rs 425 crore covers a distance of 8.8 km and got completed in November 2023. The section comprises 2 major bridges, 10 minor bridges and 12 foot overbridges. Being in a busy suburban section, the major works were carried out during the night so that suburban traffic during the day is not affected
Benefits
This commissioning has led to an increase in line capacity of fast lines in the Mumbai suburban section, as mail and express trains going towards Bandra Terminus are now running on the 5th and 6th lines.
Passengers travelling from the Virar-Borivli -Andheri section towards the city will benefit from enhanced punctuality of local trains owing to segregation of mail/express trains on the Khar Road-Goregaon section