The Harbour line is a branch line of the
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway ( Marathi: मुंबई उपनगरीय रेल्वे) (colloquially called local trains or simply locals) consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines ser ...
operated by
Central Railway. It was named so because it catered to the eastern neighbourhoods along the city's natural harbour. Its termini are
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST ( suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
The terminus was ...
(CSMT),
Goregaon and
Panvel
Panvel () is a city and taluka in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal Corpora ...
on the CSMT-Goregaon, CSMT-Panvel and Panvel-Goregaon routes.
The line is a double line and therefore does not have any fast trains on it. The line runs parallel to the
Central Railway line till just before
Sandhurst Road
Sandhurst Road (station code: SNRD) is a railway station serving Dongri area of South Mumbai, India, on the Central and Harbour Lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the third stop from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
Named after ...
station where the line turns eastward and runs elevated up till
Sewri
Sewri (IAST: ''Śivdī,'' iʋɖiː is a locality along the eastern edge of South Mumbai, in Maharashtra, India. It is also the name of a railway station on the Central Railway Harbour Line.
Sewri (pronounced as Shivdi / शिवडी) was ...
. At
Wadala Road
Vadala Road (formerly Vuddalah Road, station code: VDLR/VD), is a railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It was earlier called Gowari station.
This station is infamous for deaths of people who are crossing the tr ...
, the line branches into two. The first line joins with the
Western line at
Mahim
Mahim (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɦiːm(Marathi language, Marathi: माहिम) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbou ...
and terminates at
Goregaon. The second line follows through
Mankhurd
Mankhurd (Pronunciation: aːnkʰuɾd̪(ə) is a suburb in eastern Mumbai, Maharashtra. Mankhurd railway station is on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway.
Geography
The Mankhurd suburb is part of and the easternmost boundary of ...
into the city of
Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India.
Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city is ...
, where it again branches out into two lines, one going to
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...
(
Trans-Harbour Line) and the other to
Panvel
Panvel () is a city and taluka in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal Corpora ...
. The first stop outside Mumbai is the township of
Vashi
Juhu Vashi (Pronunciation: aːʃiː is an upmarket residential and commercial node in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, across the Thane Creek of the Arabian Sea on the outskirts of city of Mumbai. The Juhu Vashi is named after the largest village ...
.
The stations in Navi Mumbai are well maintained and beautifully designed by
CIDCO
The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) is an Indian city planning agency and richest government authority in India which is formed and controlled by the Government of Maharashtra. CIDCO was formed on 17 March 1970 ...
. There are IT offices above the stations. The Railbridge connecting Vashi and Mankhurd railway stations running over
Thane creek
Thane Creek (or Thana Creek) is an inlet in the shoreline of the Arabian Sea that isolates the city of Mumbai (Bombay) from the Konkan region of the Indian mainland. It comprises the area between Mumbra Retibunder and the Mankhurd-Vashi Bridg ...
, parallel to the road bridge has brought Navi Mumbai closer to Mumbai, boosting the development of the region.
About 580 services run daily on the Harbour line. Approximately 208 of those are on the Thane-Vashi-Nerul-Panvel route and 172 of those run on the CSMT-Goregaon route.
History
The first section of the line, between
Kurla and
Reay Road
Reay Road (station code: RRD) is a railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway.
The station was named after Lord Reay, Governor of Bombay between 1885 and 1890. It was opened in 1910 and was originally used as a terminu ...
, opened on 12 December 1910. In 1925, the line was connected to the then
Victoria Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST (suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
The terminus was d ...
via an elevated rail corridor between
Dockyard Road
Dockyard Road (station code: DKRD) is a railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the stop closest to the Mazagon Dock Limited.
This station gives access to Mazagaon area. There is a sales tax office within a ...
and
Sandhurst Road
Sandhurst Road (station code: SNRD) is a railway station serving Dongri area of South Mumbai, India, on the Central and Harbour Lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the third stop from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
Named after ...
. Suburban services to Mankhurd began in 1951.
Later, the line was extended from Mankhurd to serve most of
Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India.
Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city is ...
through the suburban rail network via The Mankhurd–Belapur–Panvel rail corridor was commissioned in phases in the 1990s. Vashi was connected in May 1992, Nerul in February 1993, Belapur in June 1993 and Panvel in June 1998. The corridor was converted to double line in April, 2000.
In 2004, the Trans-Harbour line was opened to the public. The line directly connected Vashi to Thane. This proved to be a boon for commuters of the two stations, who, until then, had to take a circuitous route via Mumbai city and had to change trains at
Kurla.
The last direct current (DC) suburban local train ran on the Harbour line on 10 April 2016. The special train left Kurla at 11:30 pm and reached CSMT at 12:15 am. The iconic yellow-and-maroon DC local trains had their first service on 3 February 1925, when the first electric local ran between CSMT and Kurla ran on the Harbour line. The tickets for the last service were priced at , with the proceeds to be donated to drought-affected regions of Maharashtra. ''The Indian Express'' reported that not a single ticket was sold. After the last DC service ran, Central Railway officially announced the completion of DC to AC conversion on the Harbour line.
On 4 September 2016, the last 9 car train was put into a sunset as all the trains were converted to 12 coach, which increases the carrying capacity of the line by 33%.
Stations
(All Harbour line services are slow, which means they halt at all passing by stations.)
At Wadala Road, the Harbour line splits into two corridors, one going to Panvel and the other to Andheri.
The exact split occurs 800 metres north of Wadala Road station, at a location known as Ravli (variously spelled as Raoli, Ravali or Rawli) corresponding to the nearby Ravli slum. There is no railway station at Ravli Junction. However, due to the critical Ravli Junction Yard signal box, there are various public references to this name in news articles and other sources.
Towards Panvel
Towards Andheri–Goregaon
Future development
Work is completed up to
Goregaon. The project will cost . Service is started as on 29 March 2018. Further extension of this line has been accepted under MUTP III till
Borivali
Borivali (Pronunciation: oːɾiʋəliː is a suburb and is located at the north-western end of Mumbai and has a large Gujarati population followed by others. Traditionally the tribals and East Indians lived in Borivali.
The attractions incl ...
.
Kurla–Shivajinagar service
CR has sought permission from the Railway Board to run EMUs on the Harbour line between Kurla and
Shivajinagar in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
. The service would provide direct connectivity between
Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India.
Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city is ...
and Pune, which is currently not available. EMUs will be modified to include six motor cars.
CR plans to use 16 coach mail/express trains to cover the 170 km distance in approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes. Stations on the line will be Kurla, Vashi, Belapur, Panvel, Karjat, Lonavla and
Shivajinagar.
See also
*
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway ( Marathi: मुंबई उपनगरीय रेल्वे) (colloquially called local trains or simply locals) consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines ser ...
*
List of Mumbai Suburban Railway stations
*
CST–Panvel Fast Corridor
*
Central Railway
References
External links
Harbour line timetable (November 2016)All about Travelling in Mumbai, including Harbour Railway, Local Train Timetable
{{Mumbai - Suburban Railway, Harbour
Rail transport in Mumbai
Mumbai Suburban Railway lines
Transport in Navi Mumbai
Railway lines opened in 1910
1910 establishments in India