Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Railway authorities, wake up!' that was published in 'In New Bombay'

Railway authorities, wake up!

In a span of just one year, the numbers of commuters from Vashi to Panvel increased by around 50 lakhs. The reason is the development of Navi Mumbai that is taking place at a rapid pace. Many projects are coming up in the city. More and more comforts are being made available to the people of the city. Hence who would not like to migrate to such a rapidly developing city. There are more and more houses made available here and the corporation is applying full focus on infrastructures like having good roads, better connectivity and more greenery.

Owing to the rapid rise in population, what is happening within the city of Navi Mumbai? Has railway authorities ever given a thought to this? Vashi and Airoli are most visited city. The crowd in the trains that take commuters to these places are becoming so dense that there arises an urgent need to have more trains plying along these routes. It is high time the railway authorities focused on increasing the number of trains between Vashi and Panvel, considering the enormous demand that have arisen for these trains. Focus also should be on trains between Thane and Vashi.

Other reasons why population in Navi Mumbai is increasing is the fact that apart from commercial and industrial spaces, many residential projects have come up in Navi Mumbai area and it will grow further. The satellite city is also known for having APMC with a huge area. Also many new projects like Navi Mumbai International Airport, Metro projects, coastal roads, Panvel-CSMT fast line train and many initiatives by CIDCO and NMMC are also in pipeline. Due to these projects, many people from other parts of the city are shifting to Navi Mumbai.

Another thing that the railway authorities need to do is increase the number of tracks. Currently there are only two rail lines and now it is nearing its saturation and it is very difficult to maintain punctuality in case of any technical failures. The fourth corridor to Belapur/Nerul-Kharkopar was made operational which again connects interiors of Navi Mumbai. That was a good move and the railway authorities need to be lauded for that.

People travelling from Navi Mumbai to CSMT face enormous problem during the peak hours since during these times the trains are too congested. There is need for fast trains like they have along Western Line. It is high time the railway authorities stopped underestimating the importance of Harbour and Central Lines and applied focus on just Western Line. The times are changing.