After nearly three years of declaring the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-3 (MUTP) project and receiving its approval from the centre, the work of the ₹10,948 crore project is all set to begin. The project is expected to improve the suburban railway connectivity in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Railway officials are said to begin the land acquisition procedure by the end of January, with the help of state government.
The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a joint venture of the state government and Indian Railways formed to implement suburban projects, has estimated the need of 156 hectares for MUTP-3. The project will consist of doubling the railway line between Panvel and Karjat stations along with two additional railway lines between Virar and Dahanu and an elevated corridor between Airoli and Kalwa railway stations.
Upon completion of the project, passengers will be able to take suburban local trains between Panvel and Karjat without having to change trains at Thane station. Currently, passengers have to switch to the Thane-Vashi harbour line to connect with the Central Railway’s mainline.
On the other hand, there is only one railway line used for outstation and goods trains between Virar and Dahanu. If the planned lines are added to the rail network, it would mean an increase in the number of local services as well as improve the service punctuality.
The MUTP-3 is expected to meet an estimated deadline of 2022 but the officials are unsure as the reforms from MUTP-2 project are yet to be implemented. Further, the major concern for the MRVC officials is generating funds for the project.
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