Mumbai urban transport phase III approved! Check details

Mumbai Local  |  Photo Credit: Getty Images

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Phase-IIIA of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project earlier this month. The total estimated cost of the project will be Rs 30,849 crore with the completion cost of Rs 33,690 crore and it is expected to be complete in the next five years.

It may be noted that the Mumbai suburban railway network on Central and Western Railways has 385 route Km. There are five corridors, two on Western Railway, two on Central Railway and one on Harbour Line. Every day around 80 lakh people travel in the suburban sections in more than 3,000 train services. 

Salient features of the project:

1. Introduction of air-conditioned coaches with automatic door operation to improve comfort level and safety of commuters.

2. Seamless travel for long distance suburban passengers by extending and creating corridors.

3. Improvement in passenger amenities and improved passenger movement at stations.

4. Decongestion of entry/exit at the stations.

5. Increase in safety, capacity and efficiency of the suburban network by the introduction of Communication Based Train Control System

6. Segregation of suburban rail operation on Central and Western Railway.

Worth mentioning here is that there is severe overcrowding in the suburban trains and during peak hours, passengers carried are more than four times the carrying capacity. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government signed a $926 million loan agreement recently to operationalize two lines for the Mumbai metro rail system that will ease the distress of millions by decongesting the city.