Metro cities get ₹63,715-cr suburban rail projects

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a series of suburban rail infrastructure projects worth ₹63,715 crore for Delhi and Mumbai. In Mumbai, the projects are part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3A (MUTP 3A) being executed by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) at an investment of ₹54,777 crore. CMD - MRVC, R.S. Khurana informed that the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-Panvel fast elevated corridor will cost ₹12,331.23 crore and a new suburban corridor between Panvel and Virar, at an investment of ₹7184.36 crore, will also be executed. The agency will soon begin work for multiple rail projects in its jurisdiction. The approved projects include infrastructural upgrade for the existing suburban network with a new communication based signaling system (CBTC), upgrading infrastructure of 19 stations and new lines at key sections such as Kalyan-Badlapur, Kalyan-Asangaon and Borivali-Virar, among others. In the Delhi NCR region, construction work on the first rapid rail project linking Sarai Kale Khan with Meerut and costing about ₹31,000 crore is also set to start shortly. The cabinet has also approved the first leg of the DMRC Phase-IV project entailing investment of about ₹1,866 crore.