Title - Elevated rail corridor may run up to Mantralaya or Nariman Point

MUMBAI: The Indian Railways' move to service the ever-growing commuters of this megapolis by running an Oval Maidan-Virar elevated rail corridor may get a further push, as it is now planning to extend it to either Mantralaya or Nariman Point. The railways has set a deadline of March 2013 for finalizing the bidder for the Rs 21,000-crore project and will also integrate Oval Maidan station with Metro's stop at Hutatma Chowk for providing better connectivity.A project information memorandum along with the request for qualification document for the 62.27-km Oval Maidan-Virar elevated rail corridor has proposed extending it up to the premier business district Nariman Point or the seat of power at Mantralaya to serve thousands of people who come here daily for work."Nariman Point is a big catchment area as thousands of people now have to depend on road transport to reach Churchgate or CST station. Although the cost of building underground network beyond Oval Maidan can be enormous, the benefits are huge because of lack of mass transit facility in this part of South Mumbai. It will attract commuters travelling short as well as long distance on this corridor," a Western Railway official said.A final decision on extending the corridor to Nariman Point or Mantralaya will be taken after a technical and financial feasibility study is done.

"The study will identify the route, the length of extension and location of the proposed station. The elevated option will have to be ruled out because land acquisition is improbable due to real estate prices. Besides, presence of property with heritage value around the proposed corridor limits the option only to underground," a senior railway official said.

"As of now, the board has cleared the project between Oval Maidan and Virar. The call to extend the elevated rail corridor up to Nariman Point or Mantralaya can be taken at a later stage also," the official said.

Currently, the proposed corridor will be underground between Oval Maidan and Mahalaxmi-a distance of around 8km or 12%-and will be at an elevated level for almost 43km or 68%. The rest of the distance-around 12km or 20%-will be at grade or ground level along the existing tracks between Santa Cruz to Vile Parle, Dahisar to Mira Road, Bhayander to Vasai and at Virar, where the service will terminated.

There will be an inter-change connectivity with Colaba-Bandra Metro, which will be between Hutatma Chowk station for Metro and Oval Maidan for the elevated rail. The Metro will run via CST, Chandanwadi, Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi.

"Due to integration of Hutatma Chowk station of Metro with Oval Maidan, commuters can use a combination of these two or other transport system to move in this part of South Mumbai that boasts of top commercial establishments, the high court and Mantralaya," the official said.

Of the 26 stations, five will be underground, 19 elevated and two at grade level. There will be no stations at Marine Lines, Grant Road and Vile Parle. The underground stations for double-line route have been planned around island platforms, while all elevated and ground level stations will have side platforms.