In a meeting with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Sunday, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said a provision would be made for the Rs 4,500-crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP II) in the forthcoming railway budget. Originally part of MUTP II, the state had suggested that the induction of these trains be expedited due to delays in granting approvals to MUTP II. In view of Sunday’s meeting, senior officials said they would insist that the induction of these 74 rakes be taken up first.

“Our immediate concern is to have more rakes for the suburban railway network for the unutilised capacity of the railway tracks. So immediate relief can be achieved by introducing more trains,” added another official.

The MUTP II aims at speedy induction of rakes and easing travel conditions in Mumbai’s trains, which ferry over six million commuters daily, and where rakes designed for 1,700 persons, carry an average of 5,000 persons in peak hours. Completion of MUTP II can reduce the number of passengers per rake to 2,700 due to the increased capacity.

State officials said they had recently held a meeting with officials of the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to segregate the induction of these rakes from the remaining works under MUTP II. The state had suggested that the rakes’ induction, along with other incidental works like stabilization of lines and maintenance of railway yards, be turned into a separate component.

This component, estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore, was proposed to be executed between the ongoing MUTP I and the still-to-be approved MUTP II. The idea was also discussed recently with visiting World Bank (WB) officials.

“We have worked out the costs of the project and the state government and the railways will share it equally. The state Urban Development Department is in the process of writing to the Railways for its final approval,” said the official.

Under MUTP II, alongside the new rakes, there will also be segregation of tracks meant for local and outstation trains to reduce the load on the local train network. The reduction in the crush load factor will allow the doors of the trains to be closed and ensure that air- conditioned trains can eventually be introduced. Other works like new yards and signaling system are also to be taken up under the programme.

Funding for MUTP II has been a bone of contention between the state and the Centre. While the state has allocated Rs 605 crore for the project, a letter from the railways received around two weeks ago has demanded that the state pump in another Rs 550 crore.

The Railway Ministry has also sought the commercial exploitation of its land to fund the MUTP II by raising the FSI, including that on a 10-acre plot located near the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). In Sunday’s meeting, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh stressed that the amount generated from the development be used for the railway’s projects in Mumbai.