A major upgrade for Maharashtra is coming soon as recently Maharashtra government has approved a major upgrade for Mumbai’s suburban network.
Maharashtra Government Approved Multicity Upgrade
Under this development, the Maharashtra government has authorised the procurement of 268 fully air-conditioned trains under Phases 3 and 3A of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project.
Moving ahead, these trains will be having metro-style rakes which will come with automatic doors and modern passenger amenities, gradually replacing ageing open-door services.
Besides this the government clarified that there will be no change in the ticket prices and stressed that central approval would be sought before procurement begins as per the official statement.
An addition to this, the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, also approved urban development projects aimed at reshaping connectivity across cities such as Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Nagpur.
Apart from Mumbai, the other projects which got clearance includes the quadrupling of tracks on the Pune–Lonavala suburban railway corridor.
Strengthening Links With Industrial, Residential and Commercial Hubs
With this expansion, they are expecting to strengthen the links with industrial, residential and commercial hubs at the same time easing the growing traffic pressures in Pune.
They have given a sanction to two new stations—Balajinagar–Bibwewadi and Swargate–Katraj under Phase 1 of the Pune Metro.
As part of this initiative, a 25 km elevated corridor linking the city to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport has been approved in Thane and Navi Mumbai.
This would be providing a dedicated fast-track route to industrial zones along the stretch.
For Mumbai, a new underground Metro Line 11 from Wadala Depot to Gateway of India via Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chowk and Horniman Circle is already in approved.
This project is estimated to be build at Rs 24,000 crore with support from JICA.
This line is expected to ease commuter congestion while creating new commercial opportunities through a joint development project with BEST.
In case of Nagpur, approval has already been granted for the construction of a ring road and the development of a planned satellite city.
