Thane - Maharashtra

Thane is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which is the northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of the Thane district. On 16 April 1853, the G.I.P. Railway’s first train ever to run in India rolled out from "Boree Bunder" (now the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) to "Thane" (then Tannah), 34 kilometers away. This marked the dawn of the Railway Age in Asia. It covers an area of 147 km2 and has a population of more than 2.4 million according to the 2011 census.

Transport

Thane was the terminus for the first-ever passenger train in India. On 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder (now renamed Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), Mumbai, and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometers (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives – Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan.

Thane is well connected with neighboring suburbs through Central Railways' suburban railway network. There are 4 railway stations within Thane city limits. Thane station is part of the Central Railway division of Indian railways and is about 34 km away from the Mumbai city station. The other 3 stations are Kalwa, Mumbra, Diva which are also the suburbs of Thane.

Thane has gained new importance as a railway link to Navi Mumbai due to the Thane-Vashi/Nerul and Thane-Panvel local train lines. Since February 2010 new fast trains have started between Thane and Panvel – stopping at Kopar Khairane, Nerul, and Belapur. This line runs many trains between Thane and Vashi, the principal node of Navi Mumbai, passing through Airoli, Ghansoli, Kopar Khairane, Turbhe, and Sanpada. Almost all trains going to Konkan from Mumbai have stops at Thane

Thane Municipal Transport (TMT), Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT), Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Transport (KDMT), Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Transport (MBMT) and MSRTC (State Transport) corporations provide public bus service to the city. Autorickshaw on Meter is available to travel within City along with Taxies Normal as well as A/c.

A light rail network covering 42 km has been proposed in three phases. In the first phase, consultants have suggested connectivity between Balkum and Kolshet via Naupada. It will be 16.05 km long with 14.65 km elevated, and only 1.4 km on the surface, and 11 stations in all.

"The public transport on newly developed Ghodbunder road area is not satisfactory at the moment and needs a lot of improvement. The newly constructed SATIS (Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme) have however given good results" (May 2010). The New Flyover Bridge is being constructed on the Ghodbunder Road to overcome the traffic issues. Series of bridges are being constructed along Ghodbunder road which includes Kapurbawadi flyover, Waghbil flyover, and Manpada flyover.