Mumbai: After the disastrous stampede in September which claimed 23 lives on the foot overbridge (FOB) at Elphinstone Road railway station, suburban railways are speeding up work on various facilities, with the Central Railway (CR) finalising a tender for a FOB in 24 hours.
“Central Railway has created a record in finalising a tender in 24 hours for a new FOB at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and work has already commenced, marking the initiative to sanction and execute projects for the benefit and safety of commuters without delay,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR.
He also told Gulf News that railway authorities “are also doing their level best expediting the work of putting up 52 escalators and 25 lifts at various stations on CR’s suburban network with a deadline of March 2018. It also depends on the supply of material and working at places where the staircases exist.”
From the initial plan of 74 escalators, 22 have already been installed and 52 are in balance, he said. The escalators will be installed in Titwala, Dadar, Thane, Dockyard, Kalyan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), and other stations. Lifts will also be put up across several stations including Wadala Road, Chembur, Reay Road, Dockyard, LTT, Mankhurd, Dadar and other stations. Escalators and lifts are part of railway stations across the world, though such facilities are being introduced only in recent years in Mumbai’s network, used by millions of commuters daily.
The resilience of commuters took a beating when a stampede occurred at Elphinstone Road station’s narrow foot over bridge and there was widespread uproar over pathetic facilities for the commuting public. That was when authorities began waking up to the needs of commuters.
The tender for the construction of the LTT FOB opened on November 14 at 12.00 hours and was finalised on the same day. Also the acceptance letter was issued and physically handed over to the contractor immediately.
Udasi said, “This new FOB will be constructed at the CSMT end of the station near the new station building of LTT. It will be six metres wide and will have a double span of 18 metres each which will connect all five platforms. The new FOB will have ramps on all platforms at one end and stairs 2.50 metres wide on the other end.”
The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs29.7 million (1.58 million). Work on the same has commenced from November 16 and is likely to be completed within six months.
