Land Procurement Begins for 5th and 6th Rail Lines on Parel-CSMT Section

The progress of rail lines in Mumbai is constantly improving. In the latest update, the land acquisition procedure for the 5th and 6th rail lines on the Parel-CSMT section has commenced. This is part of an INR 1,337-crore project to install two new train lines between Kurla and CSMT.

The state government has plans to purchase approximately 1,263 square metres of property near Masjid railway station. This land will be used to construct these two rail lines. They will segregate suburban commuters from long-distance trains.

A notification was issued last Thursday under the 'Right Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013'. This notification outlined the need for 1,263 square metres of property in Kurla Taluka. It will be divided into four different property parcels for the 5th and 6th rail lines.

Central Railway (CR) officials have stated that the land parcels required are in the CSMT and Byculla sectors, near Masjid station. The state government and CR are currently working together to identify these plots.

The first phase of the two new rail lines will connect Kurla and Parel, with the second phase focusing on the Parel-CSMT section. For the Kurla-Parel corridor, which spans Kurla, Sion, Matunga, and Parel, CR requires 10,000 square metres of land. CR has already acquired 6,000 square metres of land for the Kurla-Parel corridor, and the remaining acquisitions are in process.

The acquisition of approximately 0.40 hectares of land at Swadeshi Mills in Kurla is currently underway. The much anticipated fifth and sixth lines connecting Parel and Kurla are expected to be completed within a 1.5–2 year timeline.

The project is designed to introduce around 200 new suburban local rail services from Parel. Recently, CR authorities relocated the starting location of suburban slow services from Dadar to Parel as part of their project of widening the platform, which has now been completed.

Originally approved in 2008 at a cost of INR 890.89 crore, the project's budget was later revised to INR 1,337 crore. The project will happen in two phases: Phase 1 covers 10.1 kilometres from Kurla to Parel, whereas Phase 2 spans 7.4 kilometres from Parel to CSMT.