MAHARASHTRA (Metro Rail News): During the unveiling ceremony of 9 key infrastructure projects of Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MahaRail) on July 12, 2026, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a massive statewide plan to build 145 flyovers over the next three years to eliminate railway level crossings systematically.
Maharashtra aims to become fully “Railway gate-free” by eliminating or replacing all level crossings in the state. Maharashtra has 524 remaining railway level crossings. Among them, 121 crossings handling more than 10,000 vehicles per day have already received approval for flyovers.
According to the 2023 NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) data, Maharashtra is No. 1 in India for railway accidents with 5,559 railway accidents and a total of 3,445 deaths. Many of these involve track crossings or incidents near level crossings, though exact level-crossing data is unavailable. Over 26,500 deaths occurred on Mumbai tracks from 2015 to May 2025. So this Railway gate-free project will be a huge relief to Maharashtra, India’s second most populated state.
The project will replace all level crossings with Road Over Bridges (ROBs), Road Under Bridges (RUBs), subways, and flyovers. The initial focus of the project was now to replace busy level crossings with bridges or flyovers.
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Railway gate-free Maharashtra will be a huge relief for cities like Nagpur, Pune, and Mumbai suburbs, where level crossings cause long gate closures of more than 10–30+ minutes daily. This project is crucial for the economic growth of major industrial hubs such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
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