Suburban commuters in Mumbai are going to face some disruption, as Western Railway plans to implement a series of mega blocks to facilitate the construction of a 4.5-kilometer 6th line between Goregaon and Kandivali stations.
Starting from August 27, the railway will carry out five mega blocks, each lasting 10 hours, on weekends throughout the 35-day period ending on October 6. The aim is to complete this critical infrastructure upgrade while minimizing inconvenience to passengers.
“The work is scheduled to be completed within 35 days but no work will be undertaken from September 11 to 17 due to Ganpati festival,” WR general manager Ashok Kumar Misra said.
“As there is no space to lay the 6th line on the east side of Malad station, a new line will be laid on the west side and all the existing 5 lines will be shifted to the west side through cut and connection,” he said.
Due to this work, a few long distance trains will be regulated by 15 to 20 minutes, while suburban services will also be affected as 100-140 services will be cancelled on an average and around 40 services will be short-terminated on weekends, the release said.
“WR has scheduled to carry out the work during the night hours so as to cause minimal disruptions on weekdays. Trains running from Bandra Terminus will be regulated by 40-45 minutes on September 28-29 and October 5-6 when non-interlocking work will be undertaken on the 5th line between Goregaon and Kandivali,” it said.
While the 5th line between Bandra Terminus is commissioned, the 6th line is operation between Khar and Goregaon, while the current work is to extend the latter from Goregaon to Kandivali, officials said.
“After completion of this work, the 6th line will be extended to Borivali. It will provide a dedicated corridor for long-distance trains. Commuters will be benefited due to enhanced capacity easing congestion and improving punctuality,” the official said.
(With inputs from PTI)
