17.4.13

Churchgate - Virar Rail Corridor update


The Oval Maidan-Churchgate-Virar elevated/underground railway corridor took a decisive step towards becoming a reality.
Union railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that the state government has agreed to the state support agreement (SSA). Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, chairman railway board Vinay Mittal and Bansal met on Monday over the elevated corridor. Officials said that during the meeting the state told railway officials that the SSA had been approved by the state cabinet and a formal signing would soon be held.
“It is a huge project and would need the state government’s involvement for shifting of utilities as well as development of land,” Bansal told mediapersons.
The SSA of the Rs.19,500 crore Oval Maidan-Churchgate-Virar elevated-underground railway corridor has been a bone of contention between the state and railway for almost a year now.
The project itself has undergone huge changes with several new underground portions added to it. Senior railway officials said the need to remove private and government buildings along the alignment was reduced by a massive 96% and that of land by 51%.
The reduction in land requirement was due to the railways deciding to make the alignment underground from Bandra to Oshiwara and making the depot at Mira Road over 40.8 hectares instead of 65 hectares in Virar. The project has six firms lining up to submit their qualifications for the process, also called Request for Qualification.

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