Going long to bring Mumbai, Pune closer

For the first time in 160 years a plan for a new rail alignment between Mumbai and Pune to bypass the existing steep ghats and 28 tunnels received the goahead last weekend Calling it the simpler inclines of 1100 lsquoSreedharan gradersquo Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has asked Central Railway to work on it expeditiously The minister took a ride onboard a threecoach special inspection train with a halt at Lonavala and examined the process of navigating ghats and the operation of banker locomotivesUnion Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at Pune station on SaturdayBanker locomotives essential for navigating steep gradients like those at Bhor and Thal Ghat push trains uphill and help control them downhill The current gradient of 137 necessitates their use while the new plan with a gradient of 1100 aims to eliminate the need for these locomotives potentially speeding up travel times between Mumbai and PuneBanker locomotives are powered engines attached to the back of the train to push it during the uphill climb and to stop it from losing control during the downhill stretch This is necessary as the inclines at Bhor in the Pune direction and Thal Ghat in the Nashik direction have a gradient of 137 which means there is a onemetre rise for every 37 metres The Train 18 Vande Bharat is the only train that can negotiate these ghats without any locomotives The Mumbai CSMTRajdhani Express is the other train that does this but it has an engine on either side of the trainThe SolapurMumbai Vande Bharat Express heading towards Mumbai near Pune Representation picldquoAt present the ghat section between Mumbai and Pune has a gradient of 137 due to which trains require banker locomotives To solve this problem we have been working for the past two years and a new alignment has been thought of as a solution which will have a gradient of 1100 We have conducted a long and detailed exercise on this I have inspected the alignment and I think the solution that has been worked out is very feasible and can be taken ahead I have now given the sanction and goahead for it The next step will be to make a Detailed Project Report of the entire plan convert it into a project and prepare it for formal approvals It is a lengthy process but will prove to be a longterm solution to the problem and bring the two cities closer togetherrdquo Vaishnaw saidLegendary railway engineer and Padma awardee E Sreedharan known for building the Konkan Railway Delhi Metro and several key railway engineering projects told midday that a ldquo1100 gradient was doable in the ghat sectionrdquoTravel time reductionOn the roads side the missing link project of the MumbaiPune Expressway undertaken by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation MSRDC will be operational by May 2025 The length of the existing MumbaiPune Expressway section from Khopoli exit to Sinhgad Institute is presently 19 km This distance will be reduced to 133 km after the construction of this new missing link Therefore the total length of the Expressway from Mumbai to Pune will be decreased by 6 km Travel time will be reduced by 2025 minutesPuneLonavala 3rd 4th LineIn addition to the new alignment Vaishnaw also approved a proposal for the construction of a third and fourth line between Pune and Lonavala Currently the PuneLonavala section is a 6384 km doubleline electrified route Since land is available on the UP side of the existing double line the proposal is to build the third and fourth lines on this UP side to minimise land acquisition This will also facilitate the integration of future lines such as the PuneNasik line which will also be situated on the UP side of the present PuneLonavala double lineWhat is known so farThe proposed alignment starts near Karjat station at the Mumbai end and extends to Talegaon station near the Pune end It will be a doubleelectrified line Although it will involve a longer detour of about 20 km it is expected to be a faster route than the existing mainline This is because it will eliminate the need for attaching and detaching banker locomotives and the related delays However the alignment plan is still in the preliminary stages and needs to be formalised with actual measurements and figures Once finalised it will provide commuters between Mumbai and Pune with a more seamless journey potentially saving 10 to 20 minutes overall due to reduced delays and speed restrictions currently imposed by the banking locomotive operations and cautious speed on gradients