The proposal of diversion of the harbour line over P.D'mello Road finally rejected after several meetings with state authorities, a recent affidavit submitted to the High Court by Central Railway revealed.

Affidavit stated that proposal of diversion of the harbour line over P D’Mello Road not agreed, leaving the railway with no option but to pursue the original alignment which will need demolition of 11 private buildings along with the heritage structure of Byculla railway station. FPJ has the copy of the affidavit.

"Considering the potential difficulties and delay in the acquisition of such multistoried buildings, other alternate options were explored. Hence, it was proposed to divert Harbour Line alignment over PD Mello Road  to create the path for the proposed 5th & 6th lines. In this regard, number of meetings and deliberations were held. A High Power committee comprising Mumbai Port Trust, Railway and State Government officials was also constituted which deliberated the matter in length, but finally the proposal was not agreed by the State Government. Thus, the option now left with Railway is to go for original alignment with acquisition of private land and 11 Multistoried buildings" stated the affidavit of CR.

"Apart from that existing Heritage station building of Byculla station is also coming in the proposed alignment and will require to be demolished along with 14 Multistoried service buildings like ECC Bank building, RRI, S&T hostel building, Central cabin which are also coming in the alignment will also be required to be dismantled" further stated the affidavit.

The project, originally approved in 2008 with an estimated budget of Rs 890.89 crore, has seen a significant cost revision to Rs 1,337 crore. It is being implemented in two phases: Phase 1 extends 10.1 km from Kurla to Parel, while Phase 2 covers the 7.4 km stretch from Parel to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). Process of 1st phase ( Kurla - Parel ) is on and CR targeting to complete the extension of 5th 6th line track up to Parel by December 2025.

The 5th and 6th line project is an important project in the city’s suburban section of CR, which is being constructed for the segregation of suburban and long-distance train services.

Currently, CR operates six tracks up to LTT . The addition of the fifth and sixth lines is expected to enhance the operation of suburban trains and mail express services, facilitating the introduction of additional local trains in the section.