Mumbai Urban Transport Project phase 3 ready to roll after Centre's nod

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, staring at an empty order-book after some of its big projects entered the business-end of things this year, have got a new lease of life. Last week, railway minister Suresh Prabhu announced that after his meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis phase 3 of the Mumbai UrbanTransport Project (MUTP) was now on. According to officials, the projects hold a lot of promise for the harried Mumbaikar. dna gives a lowdown on some of the major works:

The Virar-Vasai-Diva-Panvel line:
Estimated to cost Rs 6,120 crores as per 2011 prices, the work to create a whole new 70-odd kilometre suburban line would now cost anything between Rs 8,000-10,000 crore. "It has the potential to create a new urban set-up in the Bhiwandi, Kharbao, Kalamboli, Diva, Panvel area. If work begins now, it could be a reality over the next decade," said a senior railway official.
The financing of the project has to be sorted out though. While the railways wants the state government to get the local civic bodies along the rail route to levy taxes, the state wants it to be done the traditional way. However, with chartered accountant-banker Suresh Prabhu as railway minister, city-based officials believe a solution on the finance methodology might be in sight.

Panvel-Karjat line:
It could be a game-changer for the people living in the vicinity of Karjat and more importantly for the railways in terms of money saved. The route, currently a single line used by trains like the Pune-Ernakulam and Pune-Bhusawal Express, many of them halting at Chikhale just to replenish their diesel stocks, can cut the distance between CST and Karjat from 100 kilometres to just 77 kilometres.
The line currently starts from Panvel, moves to Chikhale, then to Mohape, onwards to Chowk and then Karjat. It is used by trains like the Pune-Ernakulam and Pune-Bhusawal Express, many of them halting at Chikhale just to replenish their diesel stocks. The challenges of making it suburban-ready includes tough terrain and the construction of tunnels.
According to officials, it is now or never for the project. While a Comprehensive Transport Study commissioned by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in 2011 put the cost of the project at Rs638 crore, the state government in July 2014 pegged it at Rs 1,473 crore, a rise of 130% in the last one decade.

Airoli-Kalwa connector:
The Airoli-Kalwa connector, an elevated rail line about 4km in length, will allow more people to reach Navi Mumbai by by-passing the already-congested Thane station. "Currently, people have to come to Thane and then take the Thane-Vashi route — also called transharbour — to get to Navi Mumbai. The longer option is to go to Kurla and then opt for the conventional harbour line all the way to Panvel," said the official.
The upside for the project is that it does not require much land acquisition as the elevated bridge will run on railway land parcel available as part of the Kalwa car shed. Moreover, officials said the cost of the project would be in the range of Rs 300-400 crore, something that the cash-strapped railways could manage.

100% FDI may put CST-Panvel fast railwar corridor on track

Will the Harbour line get a fast corridor under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the railway sector? Though the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)-Panvel Fast Corridor on this line has not been approved by the Indian Railways, officials say there is a possibility of getting the Rs 14,000-crore project on track under this scheme.

Planning it big: The Railways propose to run 8-car air-conditioned trains on the CST-Panvel fast corridor. File pic for representaion

“The idea is good as availability of government land is not much of a problem for this project. The main issue is that until now, the fast corridor project has not been approved by the rail ministry,” said a railway official who did not want to be identified. Recently, PM Modi had said that the Railways have been granted clearance for 100 per cent FDI, and therefore they should come up with a comprehensive plan for facilitating it in the sector.

Until now, government officials from China and Japan have visited India and conducted extensive talks about the Mumbai- Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor. Some railway officials are skeptical, however, as there is no clarity on this scheme and the nitty-gritties for it are yet to be decided.

“There were talks of using the scheme for procuring rakes and other technological necessities. But there is no clear-cut direction of how this FDI scheme will work,” said a senior railway official.

Moreover, there is also a view that with such high investment, the chances of returns for the private players are not lucrative.

Railway officials also feel that land availability is a major issue, as land required for the project is either owned by private developers or those with political affiliations. So until the government gets hold of the plots for the project, revenue generation for private players will be quite difficult. Normally, worldwide, around 60 per cent of income is generated from the fare box while rest is taken from commercial use of real estate around the rail lines.

Initial plan
As per the initial plan, 10 stations were to be constructed for the CST-Panvel fast corridor, for which work was expected to be started this year, had approvals been in place. The Railways were to use air space for commercial and office use, which was expected to generate around R550 crore. In case of delays in work, the amount expected to be generated just from real estate development of this space could touch Rs 1,800 crore by 2021.

The Railways propose to run 8-car air-conditioned trains on this route that can carry 21,000 passengers each way during peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT) by 2019, and 39,000 passengers by 2031.

Of the 49 kms, around 42.4 kms will be elevated. One arm of the corridor, about 8.5 km, will go towards the proposed Navi Mumbai airport in Panvel.

21,000 Number of passengers the 8-car AC trains is expected to carry on the CST-Panvel route each way during peak hour peak direction traffic by 2019; expected to reach 39,000 commuters by 2031

Proposed Panvel-Karjat track will help new city NAINA residents

Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (Naina) project got an extra boost with the state government's in-principle nod for double-laning the track between Panvel and Karjat. The elevated corridor between Kalwa and Airoli is also on the cards.

The project, based on the people's participation model of sharing land to develop a mega city of 600 sq km, is close to the new airport in Panvel taluka. Around five of the 23 villages which will be rehabilitated as part of the airport project, are part of the interim development plan in Raigad district. The villagers will also benefit, along with other commuters, from the Rs 1,473-crore double-laning railway project, which will connect the fast growing Panvel area with Thane, Kalyan, Karjat and the satellite city.

The urban development department (UDD) in June intimated the railway board that the state government would share the 50% of the cost that will be further split equally between MMRDA and City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco). Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a public sector undertaking of the Union ministry of railways, will pay the remaining expenses.

This project is part of the MUTP-III and will be implemented by MRVC for the railway ministry. Cidco sources said, "We are yet to receive a formal letter from the state government, but written communications by the state government to the Centre have been marked to us as well. Once we get direct communication, the board will take up the case for approving the project cost.''

This apart, the city commuters will also get two new suburban stations at Bonkode and Dighe on the Trans Harbour track, as MRVC has agreed to include Bonkode station in its 2-km-elevated corridor project from Airoli to Kalwa.

Cidco will not have to spend any money in this project, estimated at Rs 336 crore, as the cost will be shared between MRVC and MMRDA.

The station at Bonkode will enable commuters to board the Thane-bound train along the current route. "The alignment for the elevated corridor along with the location of Dighe station needs to be worked out," said a Cidco official.

Former NCP MP, Sanjeev Naik said, " I am happy that my demand for the two stations on the Trans Harbour route was sanctioned by the state government. I will meet the Union railway minister to expedite the project."