The Western Railway (WR) has completed a critical piece of infrastructural work – the 6th line on the 8.8-km-long Goregaon-Khar stretch – of the congested Mumbai suburban section, an official said on Monday.
The sixth line, which will help divert all long-distance trains in both directions to clear the suburban section, was completed after 10 days efforts at 6 stations, entailing cancellation of several hundred services daily that had proved a veritable torture for the commuters.
WR chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur said that the speed trials of 112 kmph were achieved on this new line, and now all the suburban services have been restored from Monday.
The entire work involved laying 12 turnouts and three trap-points on the existing 5th line and both the fast corridors in up and down directions.
It also saw laying of 8 turnouts on the new line and dismantling of existing 9 turnouts and 3 trap points from the existing lines.
Now, an independent connectivity to both the 5th and 6th lines has been provided with the Bandra Terminus Yard after slewing of 700-metres existing tracks and dismantling of five points including a diamond crossing.
During the huge works, the WR had deployed heavy machinery at various locations like T-28, UNIMAT, Duomatic, UTV, hydraulic cranes, JCBs, etc to complete the work smoothly, said Thakur.
For the entire project, the WR has acquired government and private land, and built new 27 foot over bridges to replace existing FOBs that were infringing the alignment.
Thakur said existing railway structures that obstructed the 6th line were dismantled and new were built in their place, including 192 flats in the railway quarters, six new electronic interlocking buildings, two new traction sub-stations, three booking offices, etc.
In this effort, 607 project affected persons were rehabilitated in alternate homes, and around 1,000 trees were relocated and transplanted. Now, the work will start on extending the 6th line between Goregaon to Borivali that is likely to be completed mid-2024.
Thakur said that the new 6th line will enhance the capacity of Mumbai suburban section by adding more train services and also improve punctuality.
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