With the development of the Panvel-Karjat rail line, Mumbai will receive a new suburban rail corridor. This route will have the largest tunnel in the city’s suburban train, measuring 2.6 kilometers. In an effort to access underdeveloped areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the line will link Navi Mumbai with the Raigad district. The project is anticipated to be finished by December 2025.

Mumbai: Mumbai is about to acquire another suburban rail corridor with the start of construction on the Panvel-Karjat rail line, which will connect Navi Mumbai with the Raigad region of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The public has not yet fully access to the fourth corridor on the Nerul/Belapur-Kharkopar-Uran line, which was finished in November 2018.

The Wavrely tunnel, which will be the longest tunnel in Mumbai’s suburban railway at 2.6 km, has begun construction on the Panvel-Karjat line. The tunnel was dug starting in February, and on September 6 it reached the one kilometre mark. A hill is currently being blasted in order to build the tunnel.

One of the three important tunnels on the new double line for local trains is the 2.6 km long tunnel. According to an MRVC representative, the entire line has three tunnels, two rail flyovers, 44 major and minor bridges, 15 road-under bridges, and seven road-over bridges. The new rail route has five stops over its approximately 29.6 km length.

All three tunnels—the Wavrely tunnel (2.6 km), Kirawali tunnel (300 m), and Nadhal tunnel (219 m)—are currently being built. The goal date for completion, according to sources, is December 2025. Concrete lining and waterproofing work are now being done.

The need to work under significantly tougher safety regulations is the main problem in the excavation of this tunnel, which is extremely near to the already-existing tunnel of the Panvel-Karjat single line, according to another MRVC official. The three tunnels will have tracks without ballast and sufficient public refuge places, as well as tunnel control, lighting, and ventilation equipment.

The new route is a component of the railway’s efforts to access underserved MMR areas. A few long-distance passenger trains operate on the old line’s current freight service. Local trains will be able to travel between Mumbai and Karjat through Panvel thanks to the new double-line corridor. Additionally, it will act as a spur for growth in the rapidly growing cities of Panvel, Karjat, and the projected Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area.

The longest tunnel in the Mumbai suburbs as of right now is the 1.3 km Parsik Tunnel between Thane and Diva. It took until 1916 for this tunnel to be completed after work on it started in 1906.

Source- Hindustan times
Link- https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/work-on-panvel-karjat-suburban-rail-line-begins-101694199094197.html