Mumbai: Commuters root for separate body to man local train services

At a gathering held on Saturday, railway commuters unanimously backed the decision for a separate body to head and run Mumbai's local trains. The demand for this resurfaced with the suburban rail network expanding again, especially with regard to the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-3A getting nod from the state.

At the gathering held in Dadar, different passenger associations representing suburban rail commuters from Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and other parts of the metropolitan region, had a detailed discussion on the future of Mumbai's lifeline. Finally, a single letter — a compilation of various demands — was submitted to the Indian Railways.

"There is a need for a separate board for Mumbai so that decision making and implementation of various rail projects gets expedited. We have made several other recommendations, which we feel can help improve the rail system," said Madhu Kotian, President, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, which has been operational for the past 20 years.

Segregation of Mumbai railway from rest of the country would expand the scope for easing out processes and red-tapeism. At present, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a body that has been operational since 1999, has been entrusted with planning and proposing new rail lines, procuring new trains, taking measures to reduce death on tracks, and ensure overall improvement of rail infrastructure in the city.

Central and Western Railways run suburban local trains, maintain platforms, keep a tab on security and safety and overall administration of local train services. So, the MRVC has to seek approval from CR and WR before going ahead with their plans.

The passenger associations feel that all of these take lot of time which affects fast implementation. However, railway officials said that after the Elphinstone Road (now Prabhadevi) stampede and collapse of a portion of road over bridge at Andheri, the processes have been simplified.

"We have begun repair work on bridges after coordinating with other civic agencies and the state government. Simultaneously, paper work is underway. We are also building several FOBs, escalators, raising the height of platforms, etc. It is true that Railways want the state government to take more ownership of the suburban system as it runs the city, but then we are doing our best to improve the circumstances," said a senior railway official.