Title - Pune-Nashik, Karad-Chiplun rail corridor on fast track

MUMBAI: In a fillip to important rail projects in the state, the Maharashtra government last week conveyed to Central Railway that it would contribute 50 per cent of the cost for the Rs 1,900 crore Pune-Nashik and Karad-Chiplun rail lines.

The state government has been asking the railway ministry to expedite the project as it will provide direct rail link connectivity between these important centre of growth in Maharashtra.

Pune is major growth centre because of the presence of diverse industries, including automobile majors, information technology, bio-tech firms etc. It is also cultural capital of the states, besides an education centre of repute.

On the other hand, Nashik too has robust industrial presence, both, from the public and private sector. It also is a major agricultural centre because it records huge production of varied vegetables, onions, sugarcane etc. Vineyards are also there is large number due to production of large quantity of grapes.

A CR official confirmed, "We have received an official communication from the state government about their decision to share 50 per cent cost for both these projects."

The state government's keen interest and it's willingness to share the 50 per cent cost will lead to faster execution of the project. The official explained, "Most rail projects remain on paper because railways lacks funds to execute them However, the railway board will now have to expedite the clearance for these project as the cost is not a factor for execution of these two corridors."

As of now, only one train -Pune-Manmad Express- runs between these two cities via Kalyan and Panvel, taking a travel time of 7 hours. The official said, "The proposed Pune-Nashik corridor will cut across the Deccan Plateau and involve a lot gradients and curvature, making the project costly. The 265 km long corridor will reduce the travel time to 5 hours. It will also open up options to run more services between these two cities."

The Karad-Chiplun line will connect Western Maharashtra to Konkan through 11.50 km railway line. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 928 crore, of which the state government will shell out Rs 464.05 crore.