After 5 years’ wait, Oshiwara to get its station by June end
This will be the first new station added to the Western Line in nearly 50 years.
The city’s western suburban railway line will get a new station, its first in nearly fifty years, by the end of June this year.
The BMC has promised to complete work on a flyover connecting NSC exhibition centre in Goregaon on the western side to SV Road in the east by April end, allowing the Western Railway to throw open the longdelayed Oshiwara railway station.
Since the BMC could not meet the deadline for completing its part of the flyover and the residents did not allow the level crossing to be shut in the absence of an alternative, the station’s opening has missed several deadlines and has been delayed by nearly five years.
While the station has been ready for a few years now, the Western Railway on Friday told Mumbai Mirror that it will take only a month to give it the finishing touches once the flyover is ready. With the BMC promising to complete work by May, if all goes well, the station should open to commuters by June end.
Oshiwara will become the 37th station on the Western Railway’s 120-km Mumbai suburban section that starts at Churchgate in south and ends at Dahanu in the north. The last new station added to the Western line was Naigaon in the 1960s.
Oshiwara is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods on the city’s western flank. Home to several industrial estates and almost the entire television industry, Oshiwara station will help decongest Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations to its south and north respectively.
While the Western Railway has completed work on the part of the flyover on railway land, the construction work on the rest of the flyover on both sides was stuck because of encroachments. The issue was discussed at the railway’s 14th co-ordination committee meeting and the BMC officials confirmed that all stumbling blocks had been cleared and that the flyover would be ready in three months.
While residents are not sure if the BMC will meet the new deadline it has set for itself, they are happy to learn that there is some movement on the longdelayed project. “Once the station opens, it will be the closest link to places like Lokhandwala and NSC grounds in Goregaon. The bridge too will be of immense help in decongesting traffic in the area,” Sulaiman Bhimani, a resident, said.
When the flyover is ready and the level crossing is shut, the station’s platforms will be extended to the point where the level crossing is located currently. “Once the BMC completes its work, we can throw open the station in a matter of few months,” said Sharat Chandrayan, Western Railway’s chief spokesperson.
Western Railway Mumbai Divisional Manager Shailendra Kumar confirmed that the issues that were delaying the completion of the flyover have been resolved.The BMC is confident it will not miss the deadline this time. “The approach to the flyover on the western side was cleared of all encroachments some time ago, but around 80 metres on the eastern side was held because of encroachments. But the issue has now been resolved out of court and work on the incomplete portion shall begin soon,” said a senior BMC official who did not wish to be identified.
The city’s western suburban railway line will get a new station, its first in nearly fifty years, by the end of June this year.
The BMC has promised to complete work on a flyover connecting NSC exhibition centre in Goregaon on the western side to SV Road in the east by April end, allowing the Western Railway to throw open the longdelayed Oshiwara railway station.
The flyover will replace a level crossing used by thousands of motorists and pedestrians every day to cross over from one side of the station to the other.
Since the BMC could not meet the deadline for completing its part of the flyover and the residents did not allow the level crossing to be shut in the absence of an alternative, the station’s opening has missed several deadlines and has been delayed by nearly five years.
While the station has been ready for a few years now, the Western Railway on Friday told Mumbai Mirror that it will take only a month to give it the finishing touches once the flyover is ready. With the BMC promising to complete work by May, if all goes well, the station should open to commuters by June end.
Oshiwara will become the 37th station on the Western Railway’s 120-km Mumbai suburban section that starts at Churchgate in south and ends at Dahanu in the north. The last new station added to the Western line was Naigaon in the 1960s.
Oshiwara is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods on the city’s western flank. Home to several industrial estates and almost the entire television industry, Oshiwara station will help decongest Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations to its south and north respectively.
While the Western Railway has completed work on the part of the flyover on railway land, the construction work on the rest of the flyover on both sides was stuck because of encroachments. The issue was discussed at the railway’s 14th co-ordination committee meeting and the BMC officials confirmed that all stumbling blocks had been cleared and that the flyover would be ready in three months.
While residents are not sure if the BMC will meet the new deadline it has set for itself, they are happy to learn that there is some movement on the longdelayed project. “Once the station opens, it will be the closest link to places like Lokhandwala and NSC grounds in Goregaon. The bridge too will be of immense help in decongesting traffic in the area,” Sulaiman Bhimani, a resident, said.
When the flyover is ready and the level crossing is shut, the station’s platforms will be extended to the point where the level crossing is located currently. “Once the BMC completes its work, we can throw open the station in a matter of few months,” said Sharat Chandrayan, Western Railway’s chief spokesperson.
Western Railway Mumbai Divisional Manager Shailendra Kumar confirmed that the issues that were delaying the completion of the flyover have been resolved.The BMC is confident it will not miss the deadline this time. “The approach to the flyover on the western side was cleared of all encroachments some time ago, but around 80 metres on the eastern side was held because of encroachments. But the issue has now been resolved out of court and work on the incomplete portion shall begin soon,” said a senior BMC official who did not wish to be identified.
