Multimodal Corridor From Virar To Alibaug Map

The 2014 Rail Budget presented by railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge did not mention the elevated corridor, drawing criticism from railway officials and commuters who had been following the project.[15] In April 2014, the Railway Board instructed WR to halt all work they had undertaken with regards to the project. Subodh Jain, member (engineering) of the Railway Board, stated, "The Oval Maidan-Virar elevated corridor has gone cold due to lack of interest by the state government." The Ministry of Railways shelved the project stating that until the government shows interest in the project, there was no need to carry out any work.[16] Following a change at the Centre and a new Railway Minister, after the 2014 general elections, there was renewed interest in the project. Chairman of Railway Board Arunendra Kumar and the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra J. Saharia met on 14 June 2014 to discuss the future of the project.[17] On 8 January 2015, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that the elevated corridor and the CST-Panvel corridor would be implemented.[18] According to a new proposal, a 6-lane road will be constructed on the same pier as the elevated rail corridors.[19]

In March 2015, the Railways suggested terminating the south-end of the line at Andheri, in response to the Maharashtra Government's concern that extending the line to Oval Maidan or Churchgate would be complicated. Due to space constraints in South Mumbai, the southern section of the line was planned to be underground from Oval Maidan to Mahalaxmi. However, the proposed Line 3 of the Mumbai Metro would pass through the same area, requiring the construction of a tunnel at greater depth for the WR corridor. The presence of several listed heritage buildings in the area also made the task more difficult.[20] On 5 May 2015, DNA reported that an announcement to scrap the project was expected to come soon. The paper quoted a senior railway official as stating that the project "still remained in limbo as the state and the railways couldn't sign the State Support Agreement since May 2012."[21]

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It will consist of a 63.27 km two-track elevated corridor running above the existing Western Line, occasionally going underground and at ground level. The elevated sections will be 15 to 20 m above the ground, and higher at Andheri in order to clear the new Mumbai Metro station.[26] The corridor was initially proposed to go underground for 8.04 km from Oval Maidan to Mahalaxmi. Between Mahalaxmi and Borivali, the line will be elevated for 25.22 km and then at grade for 2.20 km. In the final stretch, between Borivali and Virar, 17.50 km would be elevated and 10.31 km would be at grade. Approximately, 42.72 km of the corridor was to be elevated, 8.04 km would be underground and the remaining 12.52 km at grade.[27]

With a view to diverting the heavy flow of cargo, the entire green field road project was planned. Presently, the cargo exits from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and gets stuck in the internal roads of cities like Thane and Navi Mumbai. The corridor will also be connected to major national highways. This will ensure better connectivity for the flow of goods to various parts of India.

The next significant project to be undertaken in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region would be the 126 km long Virar-Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor, which will provide seamless connectivity between the districts of Palghar, Thane, and Raigad. The corridor runs from Chirner in Uran to Navghar in Virar.

The two phases of the multi-modal corridor's development will cover 79 km of the first phase from Navghar to Chirner near JNPT and 47 km of the second phase from Chirner to Alibaug. The first phase is anticipated to cost $100,000,000,000. The procedure for a thorough survey for land acquisition has begun, and the feasibility reports for both stages have been finished.

How the multi-modal corridor will improve connectivity in MMR

- The corridor would provide much-needed connectivity from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Uran to the future Navi Mumbai International Airport and beyond.

- The NH-8, Bhiwandi Bypass, NH-3, NH-4, NH-4B, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway, and NH-17 are just a few of the important highways it will link.

- The corridor will also be connected to other significant initiatives including the Trans Harbour Link and the Dedicated Freight Corridor.

- The high-speed corridor's opening will reduce the distance between Virar and Alibaug's travel time by 50%.

- The development of the megatownship in the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area will depend on this route (NAINA).

- Additionally, it will help the MMR's economy as a whole, including the growth centres that have been suggested, such Virar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivali, Panvel, Taloja, and Uran.

The inclusion of Kalyan-Dombivli in Smart City has triggered the growth of infrastructure and transportation in the city. The Patri Pool, which is the major bridge connecting Kalyan to neighbouring areas like Dombivli, Bhiwandi, Thane and Navi Mumbai was recently inaugurated by the Maharashtra Chief Minister which has brought a much-needed relief to the daily commuters easing traffic congestion. Several major neighbourhoods of Mumbai can be easily accessed from this area via the Kalyan-Shilphata Road, Agra Road and National Highway 4. The Kalyan-Shilphata is the main arterial road that connects Kalyan to Dombivli, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Panvel. Currently, it is being widened to 6 lanes in addition to a new flyover connecting to Airoli-Katai Tunnel and Multimodal Corridor. The proposed 16-lane 126 kms-long Alibaug-Virar multimodal corridor will also give connectivity a major boost.

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