Ply more trains to CSMT, Churchgate: Piyush Goyal

The railways have a tough job in hand. Two days ago, Railway minister Piyush Goyal has asked both Central and Western Railways to run more trains towards CSMT and Churchgate in order to reduce overcrowding.

A revised timetable is scheduled by October wherein 60 more services have been planned by WR and CR together. "We have been asked to see if there is scope to add more services to CSMT and Churchgate," said a railway official.

Everyday, around 1.5-2 lakh people come to CSMT and Churchgate.

As per plans, the WR has proposed 32 additional services of which 20 services will ply on Andheri-Virar stretch, 9 on Dadar-Virar stretch and 3 services to Churchgate. For this, the WR has also sought permission to use the 5th line between Andheri and Borivli sections.

Similarly, the CR is planning to add 30-odd services on their system that would mainly ply between Kalyan-Karjat/Kasara and Vashi-Panvel/Thane. "As of now, no new services have been planned on the Thane-CSMT section," said a CR official.

The headway between two trains is 4-5 minutes and routes on CSMT-Thane and Churchgate-Borivli are stagnated. This leaves little space for any addition of new services that would otherwise lead to safety issues.

Goyal has also asked rail officials to ensure reduction in overcrowding, prevent trespassing and raise the height of platforms. They have also been asked to complete work on the proposed 5th-6th rail lines on Parel-CSMT and 6th line between Mumbai Central and Borivli. They also discussed getting land clearances for the Rs 11,000 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project-3.