Mumbai, 18th February 2022: Prime Minister dedicated Thane-Diva 5th and 6th new lines and flagged off the inaugural run of additional suburban services from Thane and Diva on 18.2.2022 through video conferencing.
Greeting Mumbaikar on the fifth and sixth rail line connecting Thane and Diva, the Prime Minister said that these lines will bring ease of life for the residents of the ever-mobile metropolitan. The Prime Minister underlined four direct benefits of the two lines. Firstly, separate lines for local and express trains; secondly, trains coming from other states will not have to wait for passing of local trains; thirdly, mail/express trains can be run without much obstruction in Kalyan to Kurla section and, finally, Kalwa Mumbra commuter will not be troubled due to blockage every Sunday. He said that these lines and 36 new local trains on the central railway lines which are mostly AC are part of central government’s commitment to expanding and modernising the facility of local trains.
Recalling the contribution of the metropolitan city of Mumbai in the progress of independent India, the Prime Minister said that now the effort is to increase Mumbai’s capability manifold with regard to its contribution for Aatmnirbhar Bharat. “That is why our special focus is on creating 21st century infrastructure for Mumbai”, the Prime Minister said. Thousands of crore rupees are being invested in rail connectivity in Mumbai as Mumbai Suburban Rail system is being equipped with the latest technology. The Prime Minister also said that efforts are on for adding additional 400 Kms in the Mumbai Suburban and 19 stations are planned to be modernised with facilities like modern CBTC signal system.
Talking about the changed approach of New India regarding completion of infrastructure projects, the Prime Minister pointed out that in the past projects lingered due to lack of coordination from planning to execution stages. This made creation of 21st century infrastructure impossible, that is why, he said that PM Gatishakti Plan was conceived. The plan will bring every department of central government, state government’s local bodies and private sector on one platform. This will provide relevant information well in advance to all stakeholders for proper planning and coordination.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor, Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra joined the event through weblink.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology welcomed the gathering and said that railways have allocated more than 11,000 crore to Maharashtra in the 22-23 budget.
Raosaheb Dadarao Patil Danve, Union Minister of State for Railways, Coal and Mines, Shri Kapil Patil, Union Minister of Panchayati Raj, Eknath Shinde, Minister of Urban Development, Public Works (Public Undertakings), Government of Maharashtra and Guardian Minister Thane District, Jitendra Awhad, Minister of Housing, Government of Maharashtra, Naresh Mhaske, Mayor, Thane, Rajan Vichare, Dr. Shrikant Shinde, Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Dr. Vinay Sahasrabudhhe Hon’ble Members of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Pramod (Raju) Patil, Sanjay Kelkar, Hon’ble MLAs, V.K. Tripathi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Railway Board, Anil Kumar Lahoti, General Manager, Central & Western Railways, Ravi Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, MRVC and Shalabh Goel, Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai Division and others were present at Thane on the occasion.
Earlier, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Raosaheb Danve inspected Thane railway station passenger amenities and travelled in a slow local from Thane to Diva and interacted with the passengers.