Hillock near Dockyard Road to make way for 12-car platform

A portion of the rock will be chipped away for the much-needed expansion of the platform to accommodate 12-car trains on the Harbour line; Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation will undertake the work

A barrier to introducing 12-car trains on the Harbour line will be cleared, literally. Railway authorities will cut away at a portion of the hillock that was obstructing the expansion of the platform at Dockyard Road railway station.

Cutting away the rock at Dockyard Road to pave the way for a 12-car platform is one of the most challenging projects for the railways, officials said

Running 12-car trains on the Harbour line will be a welcome relief for the 10 lakh-odd commuters who are forced to travel in packed nine-car trains every day.

The rock is adjacent to the Down line on which trains going towards Panvel ply. Officials from the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), which is in-charge of the project, said the work was expected to begin within a month.

MRVC will, later, also undertake a major piece of work at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in January, 2015, for the same purpose – running 12-car trains on the Harbour line.

“Platforms on most stations along the line have been converted to 12-car lengths except at Wadala Road, Reay Road and Dockyard Road stations, which all require major works,” said an MRVC official.

The Dockyard Road undertaking is said to be one of the most challenging projects for the railways. At Wadala Road, space has to be made to include a siding line used to park trains, which is currently at CST and will be shifted here.

At Reay Road, land needs to be acquired for increasing the length of the platforms.

CM’s push
The project will, hopefully, gather speed after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed proposed railway projects on Wednesday and asked officials to focus on the Harbour line and improve it significantly.

“He wanted to expedite work on 12-car trains on Harbour line and the CST-Panvel fast corridor. He has also asked all relevant authorities to sit together and resolve the issues,” said an MRVC official, on condition of anonymity.

Yesterday, MRVC met officials from the World Bank, which is funding these projects. Presently the railways are looking at options for taking the alignment all the way to either CST or till Ballard Pier, for implementing the fast corridor on the Harbour line.

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