Indian Railways to bring big relief for Mumbai commuters on Harbour Line services

The Indian Railways is set to roll out services that will improve the rail system in Mumbai. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate on Thursday the extension of Harbour Line services from Andheri to Goregaon, which will prove to be a boon for lakhs of Mumbai commuters, an official said here. Presently, the Harbour Line, a crucial direct connect for commuters desiring to travel directly to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Central Railway, is available only up to Andheri on Western Railway.

It is now being extended up to Goregaon on WR with the introduction of 49 new suburban train services, said WR Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar on Wednesday, adding that this would immediately benefit more than 13,000 daily commuters between Borivali-Andheri who can now board the Harbour Line trains bound for CSMT from Goregaon. Besides, Goyal and Fadnavis shall throw open a slew of commuter amenities like elevators at Borivali and Dadar stations on WR, escalators at CSMT, Dockyard Road, Thane and Lonavala stations of the CR.

New foot overbridges will be thrown open at Chunabhatti and an extended FOB be inaugurated at Virar. Hoping to lure the vacation crowds, additional services shall be introduced for the toy train running between Neral to the automobile-free hill station of Matheran in Raigad on the CR.

Solar panels shall be dedicated at the Ram Mandir and Santacruz stations and the newly-installed power-saving LED lights at all stations on WR and CR, Bhakar said.