Western Railway speeds up Vasai Road terminus work, targets March 2028 opening
The project, estimated at Rs 105 to 150 crore, will shift the Jogeshwari goods yard to Vasai and ease pressure on Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus.
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Western Railway has taken up the Vasai Road terminus project to reduce the growing load on the Mumbai suburban rail network and to give long-distance trains a new option. Work on the ground has now picked up pace. The multipurpose project is expected to cost about Rs 105 crore to Rs 150 crore. Contractors have been appointed, and the target is to open the entire project to passengers by March 2028. It will give lakhs of commuters in Vasai-Virar, Palghar and the Thane-Navi Mumbai area direct connectivity.
The most important part of the project is shifting the Jogeshwari goods shed to the Vasai area. Cement, automobiles and other heavy goods are currently handled at the Jogeshwari yard, which earns the railways about Rs 100 crore a year. The new yard is being built between the existing Vasai Road-Diva chord line and the proposed Naigaon-Juchandra chord line.
As the yard is likely to connect to the Dedicated Freight Corridor, the railways' earnings from freight are expected to grow further. With goods trains moving to a separate track, delays to local and express trains on the main route will be avoided for good.
At the site, work on a concrete apron, an underground drainage system and the removal of old, unnecessary tracks is under way at speed. Along with the civil works, contracts for track linking, overhead wires, signalling and modernisation of telecom systems are in the final stage. If the terminus is ready by March 2028, the load of long-distance trains at Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus will ease, and Vasai Road will become a major suburban hub.
A network of 1.8 route kilometres and 5.1 track kilometres is being laid on about 4.5 hectares of railway land. The new Vasai Road terminus will be able to handle 12 passenger trains at a time. Of the 1,200-metre-long protection wall for the platform, which will be about 850 metres long and 27 metres wide, more than 500 metres has been completed.
Two goods lines, each 800 metres long, are being prepared in the yard. A ramp for goods trains will be built on the southern side. A separate multi-storey building is also being put up for the railways' day-to-day operations and commercial facilities.
