Title - Pune may soon have its first direct train to Navi Mumbai

IF the plan of Central Railway (CR) materialises, the city will soon have a direct train to Navi Mumbai. As per the plan, the train will run on the suburban tracks of the Harbour Line from Kurla to Panvel after which it will be diverted to the line going to Pune via Karjat.

After Pragati Express, which was recently started from the Panvel-Karjat route instead of the regular Kalyan-Karjat route, got an encouraging response from commuters, the CR is now contemplating to run more trains to Pune via Panvel.

The railways has planned to run the train from Kurla with halts at Vashi, Belapur, Panvel, Karjat and Lonavala. The travel time is expected to be around 2 hours 50 minutes.

At present, 33 train services run between Mumbai and Pune, of which 21 are daily trains.

“A crossover would be needed from Panvel and the suburban line will be linked to the present line connecting Pune. The plan is to terminate the train at Shivajinagar which is well connected to all parts of Pune,” a senior CR official said.

At present, passengers have to opt for road transport to reach Pune from Navi Mumbai.

Officials said the project cost is not eXpected to be very high. The railways, after conducting a feasibility study, will submit a proposal to the railway board. If approved, the train will see the light of the day very soon.