Mumbai’s suburban rail network is set to face significant disruption as the Western Railway (WR) revives a long-pending plan to dismantle and rebuild the railway bridge between Bandra and Khar stations. The project, originally conceived over a decade ago, aims to replace the existing structure with a new bridge designed to accommodate two additional tracks on the Santacruz–Mumbai Central corridor, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.
The proposed fifth and sixth railway lines are intended to segregate suburban and long-distance train traffic, a move expected to improve punctuality and overall service quality. However, executing the project will require a complete shutdown of the Bandra–Goregaon Harbour Line for a minimum of three months. During this period, Harbour Line trains will terminate at Bandra instead of Goregaon, impacting hundreds of thousands of daily commuters.
Railway engineers recently conducted a site inspection and found incomplete bridge pillars from the earlier, abandoned attempt, now covered with vegetation. A Western Railway official said, “We have not yet fixed on a date to demolish the bridge and are still working out details of the plan. We are trying to minimise inconvenience for commuters.”
Land acquisition remains one of the key hurdles. A legal dispute is underway over 88.573 square metres of land owned by Shakti Mill in the Mahalaxmi–Lower Parel area, which is required for track expansion. In addition, the rehabilitation of 155 project-affected families from Garib Nagar in Bandra East is still pending with the state government.
The project is estimated to cost ₹965 crore and is targeted for completion by December 2027. Currently, the Harbour Line operates 88 local services between Goregaon and CSMT and 106 services between Bandra and CSMT, catering to an estimated 3–4 lakh passengers daily.
During the shutdown, services between Goregaon and CSMT will be sharply curtailed, while frequencies on the Bandra–CSMT section are expected to be increased to partially offset the impact. Railway officials have indicated that once the additional lines are commissioned, local train operations between Churchgate and Borivali, as well as services to CSMT, will be optimised, with higher frequencies also planned on the Churchgate–Borivali–Virar route.
Source: Swarajya
