Rlys cold to commuters' solution for Pune travel

The Western Railway commuters, who travel to Pune or to the Konkan region, are either forced to come to Vasai, Dadar or CST to board trains.
Commuters have come up with a solution but the railway officials, though convinced, said it was not advisable to build a new line right now.
There is no direct connectivity for trains to Pune or to the Konkan Railway route from Western Railway stations like Mumbai Central, Bandra and Andheri and Borivli.
Upset by the rejected demand of connectivity, commuters themselves conducted a study to find a solution to the problem.
They found that a 2-km stretch of line can easily be laid on marshy land between Naigaum and Diva. "If one has to catch a Konkan Railway train or a train to Pune, passengers from Virar, Vasai, Borivli and Bandra have to come to Dadar or CST," said Jagdish B Rane, a commuter activist, who chalked out the survey. "A handful of trains are arranged during holiday season but they have to take the tedious route of reversing at Vasai station, which is time-consuming."
"If the Vasai-Diva line is linked at Naigaum, connecting Naigaum station to Juchandra station, it would be possible for the outstation trains to directly enter Western line. It is a small stretch of line and would not displace anyone as it is empty," Rane said.
Commuters said it was the need of the hour for local MPs and MLAs to come together to highlight the issue.
Railway officials said such a line would solve the problem but it was not advisable at this junction to open the line as it would add to the congestion of the existing network.
"Western Railway is primarily meant to serve Gujarat and northern part of India. We do have occasional trains passing through Vasai connecting the Konkan line and Pune. We also organise holiday specials during season period. But if we build an additional stretch and get suburban stations into the loop, it would add to the network's congestion and collapse the existing timetable," said a senior official.
"A line through Naigaum to Juchandra can be laid anytime but it would add to the woes and there are no plans to do so now,'' he added.