70 Mumbai locals to get AC coaches, Harbour line to extend till Borivali: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal
At least 70 Mumbai locals will get 3 AC coaches each (Representational Image)
Apart from flagging off the inaugural run of the Andheri-Goregaon Harbour line service on Thursday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal made a number of announcements pertaining to the upgradation of Mumbai’s suburban rail network.
The Minister inaugurated the Andheri-Goregaon extension service, along with a slew of other amenities, at an event held at the Goregaon station on Thursday night.
During the event, Goyal announced that local trains plying in the city will soon have a few AC coaches.
“70 local trains will have three AC coaches. Around 250-300 services will run daily with this combination. The coaches will be reserved for both female and male travellers,” the minister told reporters.
There will be an AC coach reserved for ladies along with a second class in AC soon, he added.
He also stated that the extension of the Harbour line till Borivali is on the cards.
“The Harbour line will be further extended till Borivali, which will make commuting easy for those traveling to CSMT from Western Suburbs,” Goyal said, adding the Union government has undertaken Rs 54,777 crore-worth projects for improving the railway infrastructure in Mumbai.
The earmarked budget, which is higher than all previous allocations, is expected to provide a major boost to the saturated and dated infrastructure of the city’s suburban rail network.
Additionally, two major projects including the elevated corridor between CSMT and Panvel (worth Rs 12,000 crore) and new corridor between Panvel and Virar (worth Rs 7,100 crore) have also received approvals, Goyal said.
The Railway Minister, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will be going to Latur on March 31 for the ground-breaking ceremony of a rail coach factory, a move that will further provide impetus to the state and national transporter.
Incidentally, 50 percent of all infrastructure projects in the country are underway in Maharashtra, the minister said.
Meanwhile, the extended corridor till Goregaon is expected to benefit thousands of daily commuters between Borivali-Andheri who will be able to board the Harbour line trains bound for CSMT from Goregaon.
The extension has been completed at a cost of Rs 214 crore, with regular services scheduled to start on April 1, 2018.
Other facilities and amenities inaugurated by Piyush Goyal:
* Escalators at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (2), Dockyard Road (1), Thane (2) and Lonavala (2).
* Lifts at Borivali, Dadar, Dockyard Road, Wadala Road (2), Chembur and Lonavala (2).
* Elevated booking office at Andheri.
* New foot-over bridge at Chunabhatti and extended FOB at Virar.
* Additional services on Neral-Matheran section.
* Dedication of solar panels at Ram Mandir and Santacruz stations
* Dedication of newly-installed power-saving LED lights at all stations on WR and CR
6. The extended section of #HarbourUptoGoregaon from Andheri is being inaugurated by Hon’ble CM, Maharashtra & Hon’ble Minister of Rlys & Coal today on 29th March, 2018. Suburban section of WR has got new Ram Mandir stn besides new stn bldgs at Andheri, Jogeshwari & Goregaon pic.twitter.com/PkWw8gOjAu
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) March 29, 2018
