Seeking to capitalise on its local train network that has spurred infrastructure and overall development around stations, the railways has planned a suburban corridor between Karjat and Panvel by roping in private players. The new line is a part of the railways’s efforts to reach untapped areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Under the plan, Chikhale, Mohape and Chouk stations will be upgraded with private finance, said officials.

Officials from the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, the planning authority of Mumbai suburban railway, said work on the corridor—about 30 km—has already started, calling this a unique arrangement. In return, the private parties will get land for commercial use.