The Andheri-Goregaon harbour line will after all be open to public from March 29. The inauguration will be attended by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at 7 pm today.
The extension of harbour line from Andheri to Goregaon is a project worth Rs 103 crore and is part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-2. "From April 1, we will operate 49 services on harbour line till Goregaon," said Mukul Jain, divisional railway manager (Mumbai), Western Railway (WR).
Of these, 7 services will operate on Churchgate-Goregaon stretch and 42 services on CSMT-Goregaon route. This line is likely to cater more than 13,000 commuters everyday between Malad and Andheri stations. The trains will halt at the newly constructed Jogeshwari and Ram Mandir stations before terminating at Goregaon.
Over the past few weeks, final touches and improvement works plus inspections and permissions were being sought for this line and guards, motormen were being trained.
The ministers will also inaugurate various passenger amenities such as lifts at Borivali and Dadar, escalators at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Dockyard Road, Thane and Lonavala stations, new elevated booking office at Andheri, foot over bridges (FoBs) at Chunabhatti and an extended FOB at Virar. Additional services on Neral–Matheran section too will be announced.
Solar panels on roofs of Ram Mandir and Santacruz stations, LED lights at all WR and Central Railway stations too will be put to use. As per plans for the future, the line will be extended to Borivali in the next phase.
NEW BEGINNINGS
- The harbour line extension MUTP project is worth Rs 103 crore.
- Out of the 49 services, seven will operate on Churchgate-Goregaon stretch.
- 42 services will operate on CSMT-Goregaon route.
- The line is likely to cater to over 13,000 commuters a day.
