Bird cage girders arrive for Diva-Thane additional lines

The girders are 76 metres long and weigh 350 tonnes. Pic/Sameer Markande

Work on the much-awaited 9-km stretch of the Diva-Thane rail line that has been on for 11 years will finally move ahead now, with the arrival of the bird cage girders which are to be put across National Highway 48.

The girders that have reached the site from Rajasthan are 76 metres long and weigh 350 tons. They will help create two new tracks and cross over the NH-48 near Retibunder, Mumbra. The creek bridge is nearly done and this was the last big crucial part of the alignment that needs to be completed. "A block will have to be taken in co-ordination with the traffic police and local authorities, details of which will be worked out soon," a senior railway official said.

A crucial project

mid-day had reported in its September 25 edition that work on the additional lines of Thane and Diva might finally get over by December 2020 as the rail bridge over the creek is in final stages of completion. It could open to the public by 2021 subject to train trials.

aThe project, which was sanctioned in 2008, is a part of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP 2B) and is crucial for the Central Railway as it will be a key factor in segregating the outstation and local train rail corridors and thus improve the speed/frequency of trains. The first deadline for the project was December 2015, which was later revised to December 2017, then to March 2019, then June 2020 and now has been pushed to 2021. The cost has escalated from originally about Rs 130 crore to Rs 440 crore.

440
Amount in crore that additional lines will cost

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