Train service will begin on the Seawoods-Kharkopar-Uran rail corridor in the next two weeks. The completion of the much-delayed project is crucial considering the rapid growth of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) complemented by the proximity of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).Raosaheb Danve, Minister of State (Railways), on Saturday told Hindustan Times: “We will be opening the rail line all the way till Uran in the next 8-10 days.” Danve also visited CSMT and said that the works on the redevelopment of the station will be inaugurated by January.The project monitoring division of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had identified the project as one of the state’s most delayed with a time overrun of 216 months.
The Central Railway (CR) has already completed the works on the entire rail corridor up to Uran in March. However, the inauguration of the second phase of the Kharkopar-Uran corridor, spanning 14.3 km, awaits the presence of political dignitaries. Once operational, the CR will be able to operate local trains on the 26.7-km Belapur-Seawoods-Uran rail line, known as the Fourth Corridor. Earlier this year, the rail authorities conducted trials of local trains and certified a speed of 70 km/h on the corridor. The Commissioner of Railway Safety has also deemed the Kharkopar-Uran stretch fit for train operations.Presently, the CR operates local train services between Belapur/Uran and Kharkopar. The project was executed in two phases—the first phase, covering 12.4 km between Nerul/Belapur and Kharkopar, opened for passengers in November 2018 and the second phase, the remaining 14.3 km, which is now ready.The project will play a crucial role in connecting the upcoming Navi Mumbai Airport and will benefit commuters travelling to the MTHL and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. The project has faced numerous missed deadlines in the past. Although the line was initially projected to be completed by September 2022, opposition from surrounding villages regarding compensation issues halted the work on some sections.