Mumbai’s commuter trains have been plagued by overcrowding, with dozens of commuters hanging on to compartment doors. The Mumbai Railways Vikas Corporation (MRVC) will extend the fifth and sixth railway lines between Borivali and Virar to ease congestion.

The Maharashtra Forest Department has given the green light to the company to clear nearly 12.7 hectares of mangrove forests located in Mumbai’s Dahisar village (3.68 hectares), Thane’s Penpada village (1 .42 hectares) and the village of Palghar’s Umele (7.67 hectares) for construction.

However, the company has yet to receive clearance from the Bombay High Court to authorize the clearing of mangroves and clearance for Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZs) from the state’s Coastal Zone Management Authority. .

Decongest the trains

The aim is to create new capacity and reduce congestion, increase train frequency and reduce the number of accidents.

project details

According to our information, the World Bank financed the project. The 26 km extension of lines is being executed at a cost of ₹2,184 crore, under Phase III-A of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), the Hindustan Times has reported.

The construction of the fifth and sixth lines was sanctioned by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in April 2020.

According to the report, Phase IIIA also involves the construction of several commuter rail corridors. The entire project is executed at a cost of ₹54,777 crore, borne equally by the Ministry of Railways and the state government.

According to HT, the committee had approved Phase IIIA of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project to improve connectivity between the districts of Thane, Mumbai, Palghar and Raigad.

Extension with separate essential services

Currently, there are five Mumbai Central and Borivali lines and four lines from Borivali to Virar, while the sixth line is under construction. Transport in Borivali will deteriorate if the lines are not extended.

“The construction will help separate suburban and non-suburban services on the western line beyond Borivali and create independent slow and fast corridors between Virar and Churchgate, allowing us to increase services along the full length,” an MRVC official told the media.

Need for compensatory afforestation

When asked if forest clearing could be avoided, the MRVC cited the site-specific nature of the project and said there could be alternative alignments.

Speaking to the media, conservationist Zoru Bhatena said the loss of mangroves must be seen in the context of the benefits of the project. Building lines is key to reducing congestion and improving accident-prone rail systems, but it was equally important to have a compensatory reforestation plan.

Bhatena said the company should have provided a publicly available transplant plan and got feedback from citizens.

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