Mumbai: The Western Railway has unveiled plans to establish direct rail connections between Shirdi and key cities in Gujarat, namely Surat and Ahmedabad, via Manmad. This initiative aims to reduce travel distances and cater to the growing demand from pilgrims visiting the renowned Shirdi Sai Mandir in Maharashtra.
Officials said that this project intends to create a direct rail corridor bridging the Western and Central Railways, enhancing connectivity between Maharashtra and Gujarat. The existing narrow gauge line between Bilimora-Waghai will be extended up to Manmad as part of this development.
An official revealed that the railway is actively working on a gauge conversion project spanning 65.50 km. Additionally, a survey is being initiated to assess the extension of tracks from Waghai to Nashik-Manmad via Saputara, resulting in shorter travel distances of over 100 km and improved access to prominent hill stations like Milga, Saputara, Dang, and Waghai, as well as provide a vital link to the residential areas such as Chikhali, Unai, and Ahwa.
The new Udhana-Bilimora-Waghai Nashik route will be approximately 186 km shorter than the current Udhna Jalgaon Manmad route, while the proposed Bilimora-Waghai-Nashik route will be 45 km shorter than the existing Bilimora Vasai Road-Kalyan-Nashik route.
Although an official completion date remains pending, the gauge conversion work between Bilimora-Waghai is projected to be finished in the next four years. New tracks between Waghai and Manmad will be laid down progressively after the survey is concluded.
