Even as the clearance for a 4.479-hectare forest land by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), Navi Mumbai, is awaited, the Central Railway (CR) has moved ahead with the Kharkopar-Uran rail line project.
The work on the 14.6-km Kharkopar–Uran stretch of the 27-km Belapur-Seawoods–Uran rail line has been going on in full speed even during the lockdown, the CR said.
“The CR has completed and also speeded up several infrastructure projects amid the lockdown and unlock period. Amongst those major infra work speeded-up was the construction of the remaining 14.6-km Kharkopar–Uran line of the 27-km Belapur -Seawoods-Uran project. The completion of this entire line will cut the distance between Mumbai and Uran by almost 40% to 50%,” CR’s chief PRO Shivaji Sutar said.
Of the whole route from Belapur to Uran, the Belapur-Kharkopar stretch was completed. Of the 14.3 km from Kharkopar to Uran, about 11 km from Gavhan to Uran was acquired by the CIDCO. However, a crucial three-km patch between Kharkopar and Gavhan is yet to be acquired by the CIDCO from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.
On the acquired patch in the Kharkopar-Uran line, construction work is in progress at various sites with the help of pile boring machines, concrete placer booms, transit mixers, trippers, JCBs, Hydras, Poclains and Hydraulic Jacks. “The major construction activities under progress are superstructure work of cover over platform at Rajanpada station, foundation and sub-structure work at Nhava-Sheva, Dronagiri and Uran stations, subway work at Uran, bridge foundation work at Chainage 10975, stressing and lowering of U-girder at bridge 7982,” Mr. Sutar said.
The stretch of Kharkopar–Uran line will have five stations, two major bridges, 41 minor bridges, two road under-bridges and four road overbridges. The work is being done by taking all the safety precautions for the labourers. The completion of the project will help reducing the travel time from Mumbai to Uran and JNPT by almost 50% and will also make it easy to travel to the Navi Mumbai International Airport once it is ready.