In a bid to ease commuter pain, the 12 trains that currently run between Mumbai and different cities of Gujarat will soon have a new termination destination: Jogeshwari terminus.
To that end, the Western Railways is in the final stage of getting approval from the Railway ministry by the end of this month. With it, a terminus (for both long-distance and suburban trains) along with a pit line for parking trains will be constructed between the east side of the Jogeshwari station and the Ram Mandir station. The project is expected to cost around Rs 70 crore.
The WR authorities have proposed a terminus at Jogeshwari, specifically for terminating most of the trains plying to and from Gujarat. "A majority of the passengers coming from Gujarat alight at Borivali station. This project will namely ensure that the trains can terminate at Jogeshwari and that it does not affect the suburban train movement between Andheri and Mumbai Central stations," said a WR official on condition of anonymity. Officials added that there is scope to build at least three lines as well that can be connected to the existing rail lines between Churchgate and Virar.
Sources said that initially, they intend to terminate at least half of these trains at Jogeshwari. Currently, most Mumbai-Gujarat trains terminate at Mumbai Central.
Easing Traffic
There are 12 trains that run specifically between Mumbai and Gujarat cities like Ahmedabad, Baroda and Gandhinagar. Most passengers from Gujarat alight at Borivali