Mumbai may soon get its first underground railway line. The Central Railway is planning to dig a tunnel between Parel or Currey Road and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. This would be part of the Kurla-Parel-CSMT route.
The inspiration comes from Metro Line 3, which is the city’s first underground metro route. Railway officials believe that if the metro can go underground, the railways can do it too. Sources suggest that the plan is still at a very early stage.
The new underground corridor will form Phase 2 of the fifth and sixth line construction plan between Kurla and Parel. Phase 2 will stretch 7.4 kilometres from CSMT to Parel. Phase 1 of the project is 10.1 kilometres long and already under construction. Both phases are part of the Central Railway’s suburban network upgrade.
The final plan will depend on the results of technical feasibility studies. As per sources, the new line will run 20 to 25 metres below the surface. It will follow the same path as the existing tracks. This will help avoid roads, buildings, and underground utilities.
Going underground may reduce land acquisition issues. It will also avoid the need to relocate people affected by the project. Central Railway and the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation have had many meetings. But there is no detailed design yet.
At the CSMT end, two entry and exit points are being studied. One could be located inside the terminus, close to the suburban platforms or the long-distance train section. The second option is near the P D’Mello Road side of the station.
Officials are also checking the alignment of other metro lines. Metro 11, which will run from Wadala to CSMT, is one such line. Metro 3 also has an underground station at CSMT. These will have to be taken into account.
The project (phase 1 and phase 2) was first approved in 2008. At that time, the estimated cost was INR 890.89 crore. Later, it was revised to INR 1,337 crore. If the underground corridor is approved, the total cost of both phases will be about INR 3,000 crore. This is nearly three times more than the cost of the original surface-level plan.