A day after the Union government released a list of 400 to-be-revamped railway stations across the country, suburban commuters who use the train, `Mumbai's lifeline' expressed surprise that some vital stations that witness heavy commuter traffic are not in the list.
The list essentially includes those stations which see a frenetic pace of activity and can do with some decongestion. The government's project announced on Thursday includes stations which see maximum footfalls-classified into `A A1' categories ' or ` in railway jargon.
A Central Railway official said that stations catering to long-distance trains, have been selected. Like CST, Dadar, LTT, Thane and Kalyan. Those on Western Railway include Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus.
Commuters in Mumbai said that suburban stations built more than 60 years ago are ill equipped to handle the rush. Kurla resident Winston D'souza said that Kurla station needs escalators and a better exit and entry system. “Narrow foot-overbridges at the station are unable to handle peakhour crowd,“ he said. Many said that suburban stations should have been given priority as against Bandra and Lokmanya Train Terminus which were built recently .
Borivli resident Sheetal Pandya said it was surprising that Borivli is not in the list, “Almost all long-distance trains halt here,“ said Pandya.
Commuters said that the railway foot-overbridges must be equipped with escalators, and platforms should be made more spacious by moving food stalls out.
The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, which had also proposed a revamp of many stations, has been put its plans on hold after the Centre announced its policy .
A senior official of the Rail Vikas Corporation said that they will now seek more clarity from the government on the station revamp policy .
Under this plan, the corporation had plans of inter-connectivity for foot-overbridges and elevators besides an enclosure for rickshaws. The agency has also been toying with the idea of elevated decks, like those at Andheri (west).
The elevated deck is of 50,000 sq mt area and can accommodate food plazas. Already , ticket-booking offices have been shifted at the elevated level, thus improving access to and from the station.
ReplyDeleteIs there any concerted efforts from the state government to come up with a suitable solution to mitigate and / or prevent such a situation happening during monsoon period ??..Keeping these things in mind nearly 35 railway stations from Maharashtra are going to be redevelopment process.Now the passengers get more service from Mumbai railways.Hope to this project going to be finished ASAP.