Mumbai: Owing to an increase in the number of people travelling to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) every day for work, the Western Railway (WR) is planning to expand its services that will start or end at the Bandra station.
Officials say this initiative will not only help manage the crowd well but also provide more train options during peak hours.
“There is a notable shift in the office crowd going to Bandra, Malad and Andheri areas rather than Churchgate for work. Looking at this trend, we are working towards providing more services till Bandra from Virar, Andheri and Borivali areas and vice versa,” said Ashok Kumar Mishra, general manager, WR, who also added that this will lead to better crowd management.
WR will soon release a tender for Jogeshwari Terminus, which is mainly for outstation trains that will terminate or start from Jogeshwari. The terminus will be located between Ram Mandir and the current Jogeshwari station. This is the 7th such terminus in the city, “The construction of this terminus is estimated to cost ₹70 crore and will have one full-length island platform. The drone survey is completed and the total station survey is in progress along with the tendering process. Currently, the site is undergoing an engineering scale plan,” added Mishra.
This terminus will ease crowds at Mumbai Central and trains can terminate at Jogeshwari.
Moreover, as the laying of the 5th and 6th line between Borivali and Mumbai Central station is nearing completion, it will increase 25% of train services on this route. The first phase of the fifth and sixth railway line between Khar and Goregaon will be completed by March 2023, the second phase between Goregaon and Borivali will be completed by March 2024, and the last phase from Khar to Mumbai Central will complete by March 2025.
“As all long-distance trains will be diverted on the fifth and sixth line, there will be scope for additional suburban trains on the other lines,” added a senior WR officer.