In what is a good news for the 37 lakh commuters on Western Railways (WR), a new suburban rail terminal has been proposed at Jogeshwari station from where local trains will start towards Churchgate and Virar. The terminal is expected to come up on the east side of the station running parallel to the existing harbour platforms here.
Sources said an empty land has been identified for the same. There are also a few railway buildings at a distance. The terminus will be located between Jogeshwari and Ram Mandir stations. "The proposal has been sent to the Railway Board," confirmed Sanjay Mishra, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai), Western Railway.
Officials said that there is scope to build at least three lines that will be connected to the existing rail lines. Apart from this, the WR will also construct at least one foot overbridge that will connect the harbour line platforms of Jogeshwari with east side of the station. Everyday, over one lakh commuters originate from Jogeshwari station. This will also increase the scope to increase the number of daily services.
"The FOB will come in much earlier. The people are genuine and there is a need to connect the harbour line platforms of Jogeshwari. In the long run, this FOB can connect even the terminus," added Mishra.
The FOB will go all the way to the east side of Jogeshwari and pass through the open space of land on which the terminus has been planned. This decision has been taken after a recent opposition from locals earlier this month. After the change in timetable made by the WR, there were at least six lesser trains at Jogeshwari. This led to chaos at the station. Soon after, the WR authorities had to alter the timetable and halt trains at Jogeshwari. In lieu of the same, a couple of other services were at Andheri station.
"We are glad that such a decision has been taken by the WR authorties. It will surely reduce burden on stations like Andheri and Goregaon where several offices and commercial complexes have come up," said Mansoor Darvesh, former member, Suburban Railway Users Consultative Committee.
Andheri is among the most crowded stations where daily over 2.50 lakh people use it. There are offices on both east and west side of the station. Over the years there are several restaurants, lounges and hotels that have also come up in and around Andheri. The WR has been running trains starting from Andheri. However after the extension of harbour line till Goregaon; this number has come down.
If Jogeshwari terminus comes up then it will help residents staying in Andheri as well. Similarly over the years, Goregaon has also become a hub with development of NESCO, Bombay Exhibition Center and other offices on the east. On the west side there are big shopping malls and offices too.
Long distance terminal too…
Taking the plan forward, the WR also plans to have a long distaned train terminal at Jogeshwari. This will come up further towards Borivali end of Jogeshwari station on the east side. "This will help people staying in western suburbs to alight here. Also rather than giving halts at Andheri or Borivali, the long distance trains can be terminated here," said another WR official on condition of anonymity.
The terminus will especially benefit those passengers heading towards Gujarat. The aim is to reduce the pressure on the other two termini; namely Mumbai Central and Bandra. Currently, WR handles 103 long-distance trains daily, of which 43 originate from Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus. The Jogeshwari terminus could handle seven outstation trains plying to and from Gujarat everyday.
- Total WR suburban services: 1365
- Number of daily commuters at Jogeshwari: 1 lakh plus
- Number of daily commuters at Andheri: 2.50 lakh
- Daily commuters: 37 lakh
- Total services added from Nov 1: 10
