‘Tortoise train’ circles Mumbai for hours amid delays and congestion
The decked-up new train at Borivli station
For the first time, a direct train has been flagged off from Bandra and Borivli to Konkan and Goa to help those staying in the western suburbs. At first look, it sounds like good optics but the train ends up circling the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for multiple hours due to a lack of a clear path before it takes off just like flights hover over airports due to lack of landing space!
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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the new bi-weekly 10115 Bandra Terminus Madgaon Express train virtually with Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, local MLA Sunil Rane, BJP leader Ashish Shelar and a host of BJP politicians at the Borivli station on Thursday.
The timings
The train will operate bi-weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays and start from Bandra Terminus at 6.50 am reaching Madgaon in Goa at 10 pm. During the return journey, the train will start from Madgaon (Goa) at 7.40 am and reach Bandra Terminus at 11.40 am.
Ground analysis
Assessment of the actual travel time and comparison with other trains leaving Mumbai for Konkan and Goa shows that this is a “tortoise train,” taking over three hours just to reach Panvel and leave MMR.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal waving at the crowd at Borivli station. Pics/Satej Shinde
Currently, several trains run from CR (Central Railway) from Mumbai CSMT, Dadar, and LTT for Konkan and Goa, taking just over an hour to reach Panvel. The new 10115 Bandra Terminus-Borivli-Goa train will start from Bandra Terminus at 6.50 am, reach Borivli at 7.23 am, arrive at Vasai at 7.50 am, wait for reversal, reach Bhiwandi at 8.50 am, and get to Panvel at 9.55 am This complicated journey takes just over three hours.
In comparison, a passenger can reach Dadar faster to catch any of the CR Konkan-bound trains, which will leave Panvel station MMR in an hour. For example, the 10111 Konkan Kanya Express starts from Mumbai CSMT at 11.00 pm, reaches Dadar at 11.15 pm, Thane at 11.41 pm, and Panvel in just over an hour at 12.20 am This journey takes only one hour and 20 minutes, allowing passengers to leave the MMR region quickly.
Why it does not make sense on war
Segregation of trains
Firstly, even though it travels during off-peak hours, the train adds pressure to the already dense and congested Mumbai suburban network between Bandra Terminus and Vasai. There is no dedicated, seamless path as there are only fifth and sixth lines between Bandra Terminus and Goregaon. Work on the lines from Goregaon to Kandivli is underway and plans to extend them to Borivli will follow. Another R2,184 crore project aims to build the fifth and sixth lines to Virar, with a target completion date of December 2027. Until these corridors are completed, any new train will share the tracks with suburban services.
Engine reversal
Secondly, there is no direct connection between Borivli, Vasai, and Panvel. The train must halt at Vasai, reverse the locomotive, and then continue on the Vasai-Panvel line, adding another hour to the journey. A chord line, named the Vasai By-Pass, has been sanctioned, but its construction is delayed due to mangrove land acquisition. Once completed in a few years, this corridor should reduce the train’s travel time. At present, however, the train faces operational challenges.
Political mileage!
The event was completely political to appeal to the Konkan population, with speeches in Malwani and a flag-off ceremony that included the Konkan Garana prayer. Leaders claimed credit for the train, stating that it was the first time in Western Railway’s history that a train was being launched for the Konkan region and Goa from Western Railway.
Inaugural run
mid-day followed the train from Borivli to Vasai and found that it takes about 20-25 minutes to reverse the locomotive. The train was flagged off by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at 2.20 pm. After reaching Vasai within a few minutes, the locomotive was detached, moved to the other end, reattached, and the train was linked up again. It then departed at 3.38 pm.
Commuters react
>> "A full day’s journey, that too 16 hours. The train will be usable only during the monsoon season for sightseeing, it seems," commented Srikant Soni.
>> "It takes over 3 hours to travel between Bandra Terminus and Panvel, from one side of Mumbai to the other. Quite ridiculous," commuter Sachin Sawant said.
>> "Request to make this train halt at Upper Kopar station so that people from Dombivli and Kalyan can also have easy access to this new train," said commuter Vinayak Naik.
>> "If the journey time is 16 hours, it will definitely take over 24 hours to complete the journey, given the congestion and delays along the KR single-line stretch," said Aniket Masurkar, another commuter.
>> "It would be better for Bandra residents to go to LTT and take a train from there, or better yet, go directly to Panvel via the Harbour Line. It’ll take less than half the time to reach Panvel from Bandra that way, and with more ease and comfort," said another commuter.
>> "It should have had halts at more stations like Sangameshwar, similar to the Diva-Ratnagiri train. The Mainline EMU train plan announced earlier was much better," said commuter activist Akshay Mahapadi.
>> “This is a big disappointment, and most Konkanites are devastated. This train will not halt at any station in seven talukas such as Pen, Mangaon, Khed, Sangameshwar, Lanja, Rajapur, Vaibhavwadi, nor at important stations like Kudal, or other stations like Nagothane, Sape-Wamne, Karanjadi, Savarda, Aravali Road, Advali, Zarap, and Madure. Adding these halts at a later stage can often be a cumbersome process involving numerous follow-ups, which we hope to avoid,” said Jayawant Shankar Darekar of the Konkan Vikas Samiti.
Vaishnaw says 12 projects on in Mumbai, Kurla-Parel to complete next year Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that the ambitious 10-km stretch of the 5th-6th line between Kurla and Parel will be completed by the end of 2025. He was speaking at the flag-off rally for the Bandra-Borivli-Goa train. “Mumbai is our country's financial capital, and its suburban railways are its lifeline, with 75 lakh commuters travelling on its 3,200 services run by Western and Central Railways. Currently, 12 projects with an investment of R16,240 crore are ongoing to greatly improve Mumbai's rail services,” Vaishnaw said.
12 ongoing projects
1. CSMT-Kurla 5th & 6th Line - '891 Cr: Phase I from Parel to Kurla (10 km) expected by the end of next year.
2. Mumbai Central-Borivli 6th Line - '919 Cr: 30 km stretch with Phase I (Khar to Goregaon) already completed.
3. Harbour Line Extension (Goregaon to Borivali) - '826 Cr: Extending the line by 7 km.
4. Borivli-Virar 5th & 6th Line - '2,184 Cr: 26 km expansion underway.
5. Virar-Dahanu 3rd & 4th Line - '3,587 Cr: 64 km addition to improve connectivity.
6. Panvel-Karjat Suburban Corridor - '2,782 Cr: 29.6 km corridor development.
7. Airoli-Kalva Elevated Suburban Corridor - '476 Cr: 3.3 km elevated route under construction.
8. Kalyan-Asangoan 4th Line - '1,759 Cr: 32 km line expansion.
9. Kalyan-Badlapur 3rd & 4th Line - '1,510 Cr: 14 km project to enhance capacity.
10. Kalyan-Kasara 3rd Line - '792 Cr: 67 km line to boost connectivity.
11. Naigaon-Juhichandra Double Chord Line - '176 Cr: 6 km new line.
12. Nilaje-Kopar Double Chord Line - '338 Cr: 5 km expansion project.
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