Central Railway (CR) has completed the first phase of laying the 17-kilometre new line on the Panvel-Apta route as part of the ambitious 75-kilometre doubling project that will eventually pave way for improved punctuality of long-distance trains for Mumbai. It will also enhance the connectivity between the north and south of the country.
“The project envisages doubling the existing 75-km single line between Panvel and Roha. The first phase has been completed while the entire `403 crore project will be completed by December 2013,” said V. A. Malegaonkar, chief public relations officer of CR, adding, “With the new line, the capacity will be increased and we can run additional long-distance trains to Konkan and South along with improving the punctuality of existing trains. Besides improving the freight movement from ports, this will also pave the way for speedy transportation of food grains from North to South”.
A trial run was successfully undertaken on the 17-km stretch on Wednesday. In the project, engineers now face the daunting task having to build a tunnel and another railway bridge over the Patalganga River.
“The work to build the tunnel and a bridge over the river is already underway at a satisfactory pace to meet the deadline. Once the tunnel is completed, the trains, which presently ply at a speed of 60kmph due to steep curves, will run up to 120kmph,” Mr Malegaon-kar added.
CR stated that trains such as Rajdhani Express, Duronto Express, Nagarcoil Express, Trivandrum Express, Mangala Express and Sampark Kranti Express pass on the stretch. “We can also increase trains from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to the south and the Konkan region,” said Mr Malegaonkar.