Thane: Central Railway (CR) will take over operations and maintenance of all Cidco-managed railway stations on Harbour and Trans-Harbour lines in Navi Mumbai within the next six months, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske announced on Friday, signalling the end of a long-standing administrative deadlock that left commuters grappling with poor station infrastructure and inadequate passenger amenities.The decision follows a high-level meeting between Mhaske, senior CR officials and Cidco representatives at the railway headquarters in Mumbai.Under the new arrangement, CR will handle pre-monsoon works and routine station maintenance and will issue a written commitment next week.For nearly two decades, maintenance responsibilities for several suburban stations remained caught in a grey area after agreements between Cidco and the railways expired without renewal. According to Mhaske, maintenance contracts for stations between Vashi and Belapur as well as Kharghar and Khandeshwar lapsed in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Several Trans-Harbour stations, including Airoli, Rabale, Ghansoli, Koparkhairane, Turbhe, Bamandongri and Kharkopar, never had formal maintenance agreements.“This left railway passengers struggling with poor infrastructure, delayed repairs and inadequate maintenance,” said Mhaske.Cidco’s joint managing director Mantada Raja Dayanidhi said it had continued maintaining 17 Harbour and Trans-Harbour stations without any formal agreement since 2008, largely in the interest of passenger welfare. “The original maintenance pact signed in 1998 expired in 2008. Cidco has spent over Rs 4,000 crore on station construction and more than Rs 400 crore on maintenance, while earning only Rs 52 crore through advertisement rights,” he said. “We can no longer bear the expenditure.”Mhaske said the transfer was crucial as major projects, including the Navi Mumbai international airport and upcoming urban developments, are expected to significantly increase pressure on the suburban rail network.As a member of the railway advisory committee, Mhaske had repeatedly raised the issue with railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and officials in Delhi, following which the ministry directed railway authorities in Mumbai to urgently resolve the matter.
