Parel Terminus, to make or not to make?

This is what the Railway Board is contemplating. The proposed Rs 720-crore project will see the light of day once the 5th and 6th lines between CST-Kurla come on track

The proposal to construct the Parel Terminus, in spite of getting an approval from the Railway Board, is gathering dust. Reason: It is still mulling over whether they should go ahead with this Rs 720 crore project altogether.

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According to sources in Central Railways, Parel Terminus was proposed so that suburban services and long-distance trains could terminate there. According to the proposal, the terminus is to come up between Parel and Elphinstone Road stations, which is presently a patch of overgrown bushes and a dilapidated building.

As per plans, additional two lines — 5th and 6th — for long-distance trains will be laid between CST-Kurla. However, to see this through, space will have to be cleared between Sandhurst Road and CST. If this doesn’t happen, Parel Terminal, along with a terminus building and an elevated booking deck, will become a necessity. “Around 100 more suburban services will be added here and the deadline for the terminus is 2015,” said a CR official, on condition of anonymity.

Thus, the railway authorities are contemplating the construction of Parel Terminus as they hope that the 5th and 6th lines will go all the way to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and they will not need to spend another Rs 720 crore.

“We have sanctioned the project. However it would come up only if there are issues in taking the 5th and 6th lines till CST,” said D Pande, Member (Traffic), Railway Board.

Senior CR officials, however, also claim that they are looking at this terminus as the last resort for the 5th and 6th to pass. In the past few years, several commercial offices and complexes have come up in and around Parel. The foot overbridge (FOB) is already densely crowded during peak hours. The landing of the second FOB is quite far away from the entry/exit point.

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