But, all of a sudden, the administration has U-turned to our pleasant surprise and as early as FEBRUARY 15th, loyalist of Mumbai's longest local train route between Churchgate and Vashi can switch over to Ferries for reaching the same distance in ONLY 30 MINUTES.
This even allows us to feel that there will be a change in the state's plans and also the local people's acceptance to water as a means of transport between 2 points within the city.
SOUTH MUMBAI TO NAVI MUMBAI
A private group plans to launch a ferry service between Navi Mumbai and south Mumbai from the stipulated date. This is only if the National Maritime Board (NMB) approces the all-important fare structure by then. The ferry service is expected to cover the distance in 30 minutes, which is about half the minimum time required by rail or road.
To start with, Hind Jal Pravasi Vahatuk Sanghatana (HJPVS) plans to start a service from Vashi (Sagar Vihar in Sector VI) to Gateway of India (marked in red in the map above). If the response is good, it will lauch another one from Belapur.
The seating capacity of each boat is 42. Another six to seven passengers could be allowed to maintain a safe cruise across the Harbor. One of the boats could possibly be air-conditioned.
HJPVS has got requisite permission from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), CIDCO, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and the environment department of the Central Government.
It has ordered 2 luxury boats from Malaysia, out of which 1 is already undergoing trial-runs in Mumbai waters.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, HONEY!
The fare structure will play an important role in the acceptance of this mode of transport as daily commute. We must remember the swift death of the hovercraft service along the same route a decade ago due to its unaffordable fares. Ever since, the government has been keen on having an alternate medium to travel to reduce the burden on the current infrastructure.
FACTS
DISTANCE BETWEEN SOUTH MUMBAI (CHURCHGATE) AND NAVI MUMBAI (VASHI) :-
By road is 35 KMS
By train is 29 KMS
TIME TAKEN FOR THE JOURNEY :-
By road is 1 hour
By train is 50 minutes
FARE :-
By road in Public Transport is Rs. 14 to Rs. 17
By train in 2nd Class is Rs. 10 and in 1st Class is Rs. 108
As it seems currently, we all residents of Mumbai, are wishing to buy the Tata Nano and hence we must hope that a ferry service like this one does start so that there is less traffic when we drive our new Nano-s and more options for the Mumbaikars to choose from to travel.
