To decongest Mumbai CST railway station, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation for two new terminal stations – one at Parel for suburban trains and the other at Panvel for long-distance trains – on Monday.

The Parel terminus will be constructed at a cost of ₹51 crore and the Panvel terminus at a cost of ₹154 crore.

The Panvel station will also have facilities for stabling trains, and four washing lines for maintaining coaches at Kalamboli near Panvel. Likely to start by March 2019, the terminal will be the first railway terminus for Navi Mumbai.

The Parel facility will also take three years to complete, Prabhu said, adding that Parel had become the central point for Mumbai suburban travellers over the years and needed urgent attention. It will consist of one terminal line with platforms on both sides.

The suburban terminus is a part of Mumbai Urban Vikas Project (MUTP) Phase 2 for commissioning the 5{+t}{+h} and 6{+t}{+h} lines between Parel and Mumbai CST which has been targeted for completion by 2021 at a cost of ₹436 crore.

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