Western Railway to Revive Land Near Lower Parel and Grant Road for New Trains
Western Railway is planning to revive two disused railway land parcels near Lower Parel and Grant Road to develop additional coaching, maintenance, and stabling facilities for long-distance trains, officials familiar with the project said. The development is expected to boost operations from Dadar Terminus and Mumbai Central, enabling the railway network to introduce at least 10 to 15 additional long-distance trains while expanding rake parking and maintenance infrastructure.
One of the key sites identified for the overhaul is located between Currey Road and Lower Parel stations, approximately 2.5 kilometres from Dadar Terminus and two kilometres from Mumbai Central. The land parcel, currently owned by Central Railway, will be transferred to Western Railway. Officials noted that the plot represents the only viable location to expand pit-line capacity for terminals in the area, as Dadar has no remaining space for new pit lines and Mumbai Central has limited scope for further expansion.
Under the plan for the Currey Road-Lower Parel site, Western Railway will construct two 600-metre-long pit lines without cover sheds, six crossovers, a ground-plus-three-storey maintenance office, new signals, overhead equipment, and modified lighting. A pit line features an underground trench allowing technicians to inspect, wash, and service coach undercarriages. The site will primarily support primary coaching services for Dadar and Mumbai Central, addressing maintenance infrastructure shortages that currently limit the introduction of new long-distance services.
The second site slated for redevelopment is an erstwhile parcel depot at Grant Road spanning approximately 0.9 hectares. Built in 1890 during the British era, the facility operated until the early 1990s, handling inward and outward goods traffic across two terminal platforms. Between six and eight freight trains ran from the depot daily, transporting commodities such as perfumes, betel leaves, fruits, dry fruits, and apparel to markets across south Mumbai, including Crawford Market, Manish Market, and Lamington Road, as well as the Mumbai port for exports.
The Grant Road site currently sits in a dilapidated condition, housing a shut-down linen washing plant with a rusted chimney, three decaying ground-plus-two-storey office structures, staff quarters, and accumulated debris. Western Railway plans to dismantle existing tracks and structures on the premises to build 10 new stabling lines for parking out-of-service trains. The redevelopment will also include a ground-plus-six-storey building, coach-washing pit lines, a maintenance depot, and updated overhead signalling and electrical systems.
