Commuters have said that Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu did not provide new services last year with the promise that major projects that have been pending will be completed. However, work on projects like Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) II has not even started
The MUTP II 5th and 6th line between CST and Kurla and Thane and Diva as well as the 6th line between Mumbai Central and Borivali are yet to be made operational even though it was announced back in 2008-09.
Commuter Ashok Kamble (45), a resident of Kalwa, said that separate 5th and 6th corridors are meant to bifurcate the lines for local and passenger trains. “I was expecting at least the 5th and 6th line to be completed as a result of which, they would be able to increase the number of services on the slow corridor which would be a boon for us. But we still have the same number of services and lines for passenger trains are far from complete,” he said.
The additional 6th line between Mumbai Central and Borivali has been stuck at Bandra due to the unwillingness shown by a private trust to handover the land to the railways. Railway officers said that unless there is a high level of political intervention from the state, railways alone would not be able to convince the owners. “The land in Bandra is a sensitive issue as it is a burial ground. We cannot do much there as it will require somebody in power to explain it to them,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
About work on the Rs 52,000 crore MUTP III that was declared by the railway minister in last year’s budget, the official said, “Until now, the Rs 1,000 crore that was a token sanction last year, is the only money that has been spent. That too was stuck, as the Planning Commission had given the green light to the project only a few weeks ago.”
