The NITI Aayog has cleared the biggest railway project in Mumbai’s suburban network – the Virar-Vasai-Panvel line.
The Rs 9,356 crore railway project will be the single largest investment in a standalone project in Mumbai. At 70.14 km, the two line corridor will be longer than the Churchgate-Virar, CST-Panvel and CST-Kalyan routes.
It will be a 50:50 partnership project between the Maharashtra government and the Railways, and the chances of local civic bodies and private firms being brought in as stakeholders are also possible.
The NITI Aayog appraisal note has now set up the project up for a final assessment by the Railway Board and the final approval by the Prime Minister-chaired Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA).