48 commuter groups meet Ravindra Chavan over Thane-Mumbai local train demands
Nearly 48 passenger organisations met BJP state president Ravindra Chavan in Dombivli to press demands for rail links, new lines and better connectivity.
Commuter groups from the Thane-Mumbai belt have turned up the pressure over problems faced by local train passengers. Representatives of nearly 48 railway passenger organisations from the Thane-Mumbai area met BJP's Maharashtra state president Ravindra Chavan at Dombivli Gymkhana. The meeting saw a lengthy discussion on issues including increasing the capacity of Mumbai's suburban railway, safety, and direct connectivity.
At the meeting, the passenger organisations first demanded early completion of the Kalwa-Airoli rail link. They also demanded that work on the third and fourth railway lines on the Badlapur-Karjat and Kalyan-Kasara routes be sped up. The issue of starting shuttle services between Thane-Karjat and Thane-Kasara was also raised. The passenger groups said modern signalling systems should be used to reduce the gap between local train services, known as headway. They also demanded improved direct connectivity between Diva-Vasai-Panvel, increased capacity at Kalyan Junction, and improvements to railway infrastructure up to CSMT.
Several projects, including the Airoli-Kalwa link, the third and fourth lines on the Kalyan-Badlapur route, and the third line on the Kalyan-Kasara route, are part of the railways' plans to increase the capacity of Mumbai's suburban railway. The Airoli-Kalwa elevated link project is about 3.3 kilometres long, while work on the third line on the Kalyan-Kasara route is also underway.
The passenger organisations submitted a detailed representation listing all their demands to Ravindra Chavan. A press note said Chavan responded positively to the demands and promised to follow up on them at the government level.
Chavan said follow-up would be done at the relevant levels to increase railway capacity, provide passengers with safer and more direct travel, and speed up stalled projects. The meeting was attended by Kalyan-Dombivli deputy mayor Rahul Damle, Bhalchandra Lohkare, Navare Kaka, Madhutai Kotian, Latatai Argade, Nandkumar Deshmukh, Anitatai, Vandanatai Sonawane, Siddhesh Desai, Aniket Ghamandi and several others.
