The ambitious Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) 3A has moved a step closer towards ground work. While the Centre’s Niti Aayog approved on Monday its starting cost of ₹49,672.56 crore, the railway board on Thursday held an extended review meeting on MUTP-3A with officials from the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), finance and environment ministry. The railway board is the apex body for all zonal railways. “All projects under MUTP 3-A were discussed in the meeting in detail. They will now be sent to the cabinet for final approval,” said a senior MRVC official.

MUTP-3A will be jointly funded by Maharashtra government and Indian Railways. The project had received a clearance from the state on December 5.

Niti Aayog received the project proposal on December 11 and approved it within two weeks. The final nod from the Union cabinet is expected by the end of January, said railway officials. If the project gets an approval from the union cabinet, it will be the biggest railway project for Mumbai in terms of cost cleared by the Centre in this term.

Meanwhile, MRVC has started environmental assessment of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-Panvel elevated corridor, along with assessment of land and marking of areas that will be required for the project. “Land acquisition is critical for any project. After the approval, we will start identification of land. Banks will also be approached for loan,” said an MRVC official.

With the expansion of the suburban railway network, the railway authorities have clubbed major projects under the umbrella of MUTP-3A. Procurement of 210 AC local trains, elevated corridor between CSMT- Panvel, too, are included in it. The project will increase the operational capacity of the western railway, further segregating suburban and long distance traffic up to Virar. It will also provide east-west connectivity to the extended suburbs of Mumbai.

First Published: Dec 28, 2018 00:40 IST