MUMBAI: The Borivali–Virar suburban line, one of Mumbai’s most congested rail corridors, is undergoing a major capacity expansion aimed at easing pressure on the route—work that has now crossed roughly 30% physical completion.Mumbai Railroad Vikas Corporation is implementing the Borivali-Virar fifth and sixth lines project under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-IIIA. The project has been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 2,184 crore and covers a 26km stretch of the Western Railroad suburban network. It is set to be completed in 2029.The importance of the project is because of the never-before pressure on the Borivali-Virar stretch. Long-distance and other train services use the railroad network and the corridor sees large volumes of suburban passengers. The additional lines are intended to increase capacity and provide better separation between suburban and other train services.Some preliminary and civil works have been advanced. Project officials say 11.929 hectares of salt-pan land at Umelman in Vasai have been handed over for the project, with the remaining land acquisition still underway. Forest and mangrove clearances have also been secured.Railroad structures at various locations have been relocated or are at an advanced stage of relocation. Those are Dahisar, Mira Road, Bhayander, Naigaon, Nallasopara and Vasai Road. Foot overbridges and platforms at Dahisar, Naigaon and Nallasopara are on the cards too.The project is much more than adding two more tracks. Work is on in three major bridges, three minor bridges and a road overbridge, apart from the earthwork. Foundation and fabrication activities are also progressing on Bridge 73 and 75.The scale of the earthwork is a measure of the size of the project. Earthwork of about 1.30 lakh cubic meters has been completed in Bridge No. 75-Naigaon and Panju Island stretches, while another earthwork package has recorded about 70,000 cubic meters of work.The ultimate goal is to increase the capacity of the suburban corridor and improve the reliability of train operations for commuters. Extra tracks can reduce the conflict between different types of trains, and allow more flexibility for suburban services.Construction has to take place in conjunction with an already heavily used railroad system and urban settlements due to the project being in a densely populated part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Thus, the work includes the relocation of railroad structures and the acquisition of land.Construction is about 30 percent complete, and the project still has several years of construction ahead of it. Authorities hope to finish it in 2029.For millions of Mumbai-region commuters, however, the significance of the project will ultimately be measured not by construction percentages but by whether additional capacity translates into more reliable services and less pressure on the Borivali-Virar suburban corridor.
