By Manjiri Joshi,News18

Copyright news18

To control the Western Railway (WR) peak-hour rush from suburban areas of Palghar, Dahanu, Mira Road, Bhayander and Vasai-Virar, the authorities plan to build a new track for daily train commuters.
The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has taken up four-laning of the Virar-Dahanu railway line. Through this project, seven new stations will be built on the 64-km line.
This will be the first example of adding so many stations under a single project in the city’s railway network.
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An estimated Rs 3,578 crore will be spent on this project and the line is likely to be operational by June 2027, News18 Lokmat reported.
Currently, nine stations are operational on the Virar-Dahanu route, including Virar, Vaitarna, Saphale, Kelve Road, Palghar, Umroli, Boisar, Wangaon and Dahanu Road.
The 7 new stations
The names of the seven more stations will likely be:

BSES Colony.
The Virar-Dahanu route
The Virar-Dahanu route is currently heavily congested. Approximately 5.8 lakh passengers travel daily from Virar station, while 2.6 lakh citizens travel on the Dahanu route. Thousands of passengers also travel regularly from smaller stations, which puts more pressure on the stations. After the new line is opened, it will help increase the train service between Virar and Dahanu and between Churchgate and Dahanu.
How the project will change Virar-Dahanu travel
Currently, six-seven direct trains run between Churchgate and Dahanu daily.
After the four-laning, more than 200 services can be operated on this route.
Currently, the construction of station buildings on bridges including Virar, Vaitarna, Saphale, Kelve Road, Dahanu Road and Umroli stations is underway. This new project will not only increase the convenience of passengers, but will also make local travel in the city safer and easier.
This project will be a big relief for Mumbaikars, as this expansion will make it more convenient for suburban citizens to travel to meet their jobs, education and other needs in the city. These new stations on the Western Railway line are expected to make the local travel experience faster and more comfortable in the coming days.
With News18 Marathi inputs