The city’s railways have zeroed in on the upcoming Oshiwara station to try out the pilot project of commercial exploitation of land, which is expected to generate the funds for more projects.
“We have narrowed down on the Oshiwara station as we have space there. We may not exploit airspace at the station, as the elevated corridor could be affected. By the end of the year, a report should be ready. Oshiwara will be the template for other such projects,” said Rakesh Saksena, managing director of the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, which has been assigned the task.
“There were five stations in the shortlist — Mulund, Kanjur Marg, Oshiwara, Parel and Elphinstone. We selected Oshiwara.”
Asked the time frame by which the station will be made functional, he said a level-crossing first needs to be shut down there. crore is stuck in dispute.
12-car in 2 years
Asked when 12-car trains will begin to run on the Harbour line, Saksena said the authorities are confident of doing it in two years. “It is a Rs750-crore project and we will require about 153 coaches to get it done,” he added.
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has also asked the local railways to study the feasibility of building a direct line from Thane and Panvel stations to the proposed airport at Navi Mumbai. This will be on the lines of the Delhi Airport Express. Trains on this airport corridor are expected to be air-conditioned and branded.
