The 13-hour-long mega block on the Harbour Line between Panvel and Nerul on Monday did not affect commuters severely.
The mega block was imposed to pave the way for the construction of Phase 1 of the Belapur-Seawoods-Uran railway line. On Monday, 700 workers and 50 engineers of the Central Railway undertook the crucial task of cutting the tracks of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Panvel tracks and connecting them to the tracks that will make up the new Belapur-Seawoods-Uran line.
Services on the Harbour Line and Trans-Harbour Line were suspended between Nerul and Panvel from 2 a.m. to 3 p.m. Of the 482 local services on the Harbour Line, 164 were cancelled. On the Trans-Harbour Line, 40 of the 230 services were cancelled to ensure work on the ₹1,782-crore project.
Shirish Aradwad, Transport Manager, Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport Corporation, said, “additional 40 bus services were provided for commuters between Panvel to Nerul. The buses will operate from 4.30 a.m. till 4 p.m.”
Lokesh Kumar Sagar, Inspector, Railway Protection Force, said that 15 RPF had been deployed at Nerul station, seven at Belapur station and five between Nerul and Vashi to control the crowd.
Baapu Pulke, an auto driver from Panvel, said he charged ₹150 to ₹200 to drop off passengers from Nerul station to Panvel. Vijay Kumar Lakade, a resident of Girgaum, said, “I came to Kamothe three days ago for some personal work. Now I am going back to Girgaum. I paid ₹100 from Kamothe to come to Nerul.”
S.K. Jain, CR’s Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai Division, said 80 special local trains were pressed into service between Nerul and CSMT.
The Belapur-Seawoods-Uran line project was started by the Railways in partnership with the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in July 1997. The project was delayed several times before being revived by the two agencies in 2011.
The work includes six crucial cuts and connections, including three points and crossings, and shifting of rail lines from one tunnel to another. Out of the two tunnels, one will have trains travelling to and from Panvel to CSMT. Trains that pass through tunnel two will be using the new railway line till Uran.
Of the two tamping machines on the site, one is packing the track ballast under the railway tracks. Central Railway electrical engineers with the help of workers are carrying out the overhead equipment wire work for the new line.
Anil Kumar Jain, senior public relations officer, Central Railways, said that the tentative target for completion of Phase 1 is March 31, 2018.
