Central Railway (CR): Harbour trains to terminate at Sandhurst Road?

MUMBAI: If Central Railway (CR) proceeds with its plan to lay fifth and sixth lines between CSMT and Parel, it may consider terminating Harbour line services at Sandhurst Road since Harbour platforms and tracks between CSMT and Masjid station will be needed for the new CSMT-Parel lines. CR also plans to demolish the fast corridor platforms at Byculla to create space for the new tracks. If so, there will be no stoppage for fast trains between CSMT and Dadar.

"The proposals are under serious consideration. Its feasibility is being checked," said a source. Under the plan, platforms 1 and 2 at CSMT and Masjid will be used for CR's Main line services, implying that all suburban network platforms at CSMT, from 1 to 7, will serve the Main line.

Currently, fifth and sixth lines exist between Kalyan and LTT, and work is underway to extend them between Kurla and Parel. But authorities have been debating their alignment between Parel and CSMT because of the need for land acquisition, especially private land -- a major issue. A CR official said, "Under the Railways Act, we can acquire land, but it is a time-consuming process and will cost an astronomical sum, which could make the project unviable."

A decade ago, CR proposed an alternative alignment for Harbour line from Dockyard Road over Eastern Freeway. The purpose was to free up space at both Masjid and Sandhurst Road for the exclusive use of the fifth and sixth lines from Kurla to CSMT. At the time, it was proposed to have two sister stations at Masjid and Sandhurst Road to provide points of interchange for both Main and Harbour lines. At CSMT, Harbour line trains were proposed to terminate on a deck that would come up at the existing platforms 17 and 18.

"This plan also required land from Mumbai Port Trust, which did not show a keen interest in the proposal. Additionally, MMRDA had a plan to extend its Metro 4 corridor (Wadala-Thane) to CSMT via PD'Mello Road, leading to discussions about avoiding a duplication of railway lines," said a CR official.