Trans-Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway)

The Trans-Harbour line is a branch of the Mumbai Suburban Railway's Harbour line that connects Navi Mumbai and Thane and is operated by the Central Railway. Its termini include Thane, Vashi, and Panvel on the Thane–Vashi and Thane–Panvel routes. Thane is the common terminus for both the routes.

This line is a double track and does not have any fast trains. It starts from separate platforms (numbers 9 and 10) located at the far east in Thane and runs parallel to the Main line, crossing over Thane Creek until just before the Parsik Tunnel. Here, the line turns southwards and continues until Koparkhairane. At Turbhe, the line branches into two, both running parallel to the Harbour line. The first line joins at Sanpada and terminates at Vashi, while the second line joins at Juinagar and terminates at Panvel.

The stations on the Navi Mumbai side of the Trans-Harbour line were designed by CIDCO. Some IT, corporate, and commercial offices, along with shopping malls, are located above some of these railway stations.

As of December 2021, 252 services operate on the Trans-Harbour line in both directions. A total of 12 EMU Rakes ply on this line.

History
The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) was appointed as the new town development authority in 1970. The government acquired land from 95 villages and handed it over to CIDCO for the development of towns. To decongest Mumbai, CIDCO developed 14 nodes in Navi Mumbai. The development of Navi Mumbai International Airport and six railway corridors in Navi Mumbai was meant to increase connectivity between towns, nodes, and mega establishments. The major features of the rail corridors include direct access from residential areas to railway stations by foot, convenient interchange facilities from one corridor to another, double discharge platforms at every station, easy-to-follow routes, and comfortable and pleasant journeys, forming key features of the commuter railway system in Navi Mumbai.

The line was exclusively for freight from 1993 until 2004 when passenger services commenced. It was formally inaugurated on 9 November 2004 by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

On 19 January 2013, the conversion of all ten rakes on the Trans-Harbour line into 12-car trains was completed.

The fourth air-conditioned rake of the Mumbai Suburban Railway and the first of the Central Railway was commissioned on January 30, 2020 to serve the Trans-Harbour line. However, in January 2022, the Central Railway ceased operating the only air-conditioned train on the line, citing a poor response from commuters due to low frequency and exorbitant fares.