MUMBAI: The Western Railway (WR) has revived a decade-old plan to demolish the railway bridge that carries local trains between Bandra and Khar stations, to rebuild a new one that would accommodate two additional railway lines on the Santacruz-Mumbai Central corridor.
These additional pairs of tracks, the fifth and sixth lines, would separate suburban and long-distance trains, greatly improving services. The pain point, though, is a shutdown of the Bandra-Goregaon Harbour Line for at least three months, forcing trains to temporarily terminate at Bandra and impacting lakhs of commuters.
Earlier last month, railway engineers visited the site to inspect the bridge. Time had left its imprint on the half-constructed pillars of the new bridge, which are covered in creepers.
“We have not yet fixed on a date to demolish the bridge and are still working out details of the plan,” said a WR official. “We are trying to minimise inconvenience for commuters.”
A major challenge to the project is land acquisition. A dispute regarding 88.573 sq m of land belonging to Shakti Mill at Mahalaxmi-Lower Parel is caught in a legal dispute. The land is required for the track expansion at these locations. Additionally, the rehabilitation of 155 project-affected families from Garib Nagar in Bandra east is pending with the state government.
At present, fifth and sixth lines are available between Bandra and Borivali, except between Mahim and Santacruz. Lack of space for expansion has delayed the project for more than a decade. The total project cost is ₹965 crore, with a December 2027 deadline.
The Western Railway’s Harbour Line route carries 88 local train services between Goregaon and CSMT, and 106 services between Bandra and CSMT. These services are patronised by 3-4 lakh commuters a day.
During the shutdown, services on the Goregaon-CSMT section will be severely curtailed, with services being augmented on the Bandra-CSMT route during this time.
According to railway officials, after the fifth and sixth lines are completed, local train services between Churchgate and Borivali, and also to CSMT, will be streamlined. The number of local train services will also increase on the Churchgate-Borivali-Virar route.