Thane: Urban planners and transport experts have been making plans to improve public transport not only in the city, but also in the far flung suburbs. The MMRDA is considering a metro connect linking Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan providing a faster and comfortable commute for passengers here. The agency is awaiting a comprehensive mobility study before finalizing route of the corridor.

The nearly 23-km-long new link between Thane and Kalyan is marked as the fifth metro line in a project report recently presented by the MMRDA before its executive panel. Officials informed the project could connect the metro-4 project linking South Mumbai and the extended suburbs of Kalyan and Bhiwandi.

A transportation strategy devised by the MMRDA few years ago had hinted at a near double growth for suburbs of Kalyan and Bhiwandi in terms of population and employment avenues leading to increase in traffic (see box for details).

Presently, majority of Bhiwandi residents depend only on road connect while Kalyan commuters' bank on rail network.

"It takes nearly two hours for a person to travel to Mumbai and from Kalyan and Bhiwandi presently. Often, the road travel gets delayed as the routes have become saturated with rising population and subsequent traffic flow," said a traffic expert.

The railway network linking these cities, too, is one of the most saturated mode of transport and ferries over 14lakh commuters to and from these stations daily.

"The railways are working under tremendous stress ferrying commuters to and from the suburbs. There is little time available for maintenance and upgrade as the corridor remains utilized for major part of the day. A parallel network should be commissioned by the state immediately that can take off the load from the railways," said a senior railway official.

Experts say following approval of the Wadala-Thane metro corridor, the need for linking Bhiwandi-Kalyan with a mass rapid transport option is the need of the hour. Officials hint the metro route could possibly start from Kapurbawdi in Thane and pass through Bhiwandi and then a detour to terminate at Kalyan.

Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan, Shrikant Shinde, said he has been following up with the MMRDA for ensuring the project comes through. "We are following up with the regional authority on the project," he said.

The regional planning authority was earlier planning for a monorail to connect the zones, but following initial feedback from experts and studies, the authority has reportedly decided to opt for a metro connect instead.

An international firm has reportedly been roped in for conducting a survey of the project.