Churchgate - Virar Elevated Rail Corridor update

A major hurdle in the implementation of the ambitious Churchgate-Virar elevated rail corridor project may finally get cleared.
The railway authorities have decided to rework the alignment of the corridor between Bandra and Jogeshwari to avoid relocation of scores of residential and commercial structures. As per the new proposed design, the corridor on this 8.5 km stretch will entirely run underground.
In the original design, only an 8.04 km section between Oval Maidan and Mahalaxmi was to be underground. The corridor was to be at grade, or alongside the existing tracks, from Santa Cruz to Vile Parle, from Dahisar to Mira Road, Bhayander to Vasai, and at Virar. The remaining 42 km of the 63-km corridor was to be elevated.
On Saturday, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and railway board chairman Vinay Mittal reviewed the status of the Rs 21,000 crore project. During the meeting, sources said, the reworked alignment was discussed.
The state government, which is assisting the railways in the project’s implementation, had sought the alignment’s revision after a review last month. The original design of the project required rehabilitation of more than 1,700 families or 7,000 people.
During the meet, sources said, Mittal urged Chavan to expedite the process of signing the state support agreement (SSA). The Western Railway wants the state’s help in acquisition of land for the project, relief and rehabilitation work, shifting of utilities, maintenance of law and order during construction, development of concourse area and fixing the FSI for commercial development of stations.
During the talks, sources said, the state showed willingness in executing the SSA in October. It however asked WR to submit a report on the project’s financial model before considering its request for allotting FSI of 4. A state official said that while WR has submitted a technical feasibility report, it is yet to submit a financial model. Both railways and state officials agreed that the model should be such that it does not accrue “unjust gains to the concessionaire developing the corridor”.
The state government wants the railways to work out a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for families displaced by the project. It fears that inadequate compensation will lead to litigations, which in turn will derail the project’s implementation.
To minimize shifting of utilities and issues concerning the Right of Way, railway authorities said that efforts are underway to keep the alignment within railway boundaries as much as possible.
During the meet, the state government asked Mittal to approve the prefeasibility report for the CST-Kalyan fast corridor. Pushing the project as means to improve connectivity to the Navi Mumbai international airport, the government said it was prepared to fund up to 50% of the project cost.