ELPHINSTONE & PAREL: Hanging by a Thread

BANDRA KURLA COMPLEX: Complex Problem

HIRANANDANI, POWAI: That Disconnected Feeling

ANDHERI: Gridlocked in Suburbia

Before the stampede in late September, at least 100 Twitter users implored the Railways to do something about the daily monster crush at the Elphinstone overbridge where the tragedy unfolded that resulted in 23 fatalities. Their pleas were ignored. In late August, when rain deluged India's commercial capital, the familiar parts of the city crumbled and horrific memories of the 2005 inundation worsened an already bad situation as people rushed to get home. The city's corporation directed offices to shut well after many of its occupants had already spent hours on the road, or were stuck in local trains marooned on flooded tracks.Every day, around a dozen people fall off Mumbai 's overcrowded locals, as they struggle to get to work. The decrepit roads meanwhile riled the Bombay High Court so much that it directed the city's administrators to set up a nodal agency to monitor and fix them.Mumbai has historically relied on a series of band-aids to overcome repeated bruising to its infrastructure, but it appears time for more serious surgery has come. In the city's commercial hubs, this infrastructure vacuum is being most acutely felt. Juxtapose the fancy glass towers with primeval railway stations - many built in the 19th century, with minimal modernisation over the decades - and it's a ragged picture straight out of dystopia.If railway bridges are being packed to the point of stampede or collapse (as tragically illustrated at Elphinstone), the workforce in the Bandra-Kurla Complex in suburban Mumbai is spending thrice the time they should for a 3-km ride to a train station, fighting to get in line for an auto and a bigger battle to get on a packed train. Even as the state government has embarked on a wildly ambitious Rs 70,000 crore overhaul, harried workers reckon that their priorities may be misplaced. To try to understand what ails these hubs, ET Magazine spoke to a cross-section of people working there, some civic agencies and urban planners to write out a much-needed prescription for Mumbai Inc to fix itself.A recent report by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, a PSU focused on suburban rail capacity enhancement, shows that the three stations of Elphinstone, Lower Parel and Mahalaxmi have the highest passenger load on the Western Railway line, of 4 lakh, during morning peak-hour travel (8.30-9.30 am). The south Mumbai stations of Charni Road, Marine Lines and Churchgate — gateways to the older commercial hubs and markets — in contrast ferry half as many commuters (see Higher Load on Stations…).Clearly, central Mumbai is now the official financial hub of the city, not the downtown zones of Nariman Point or Fort area, the erstwhile central business districts.The redevelopment of at least 60 cotton mills -most of them located between the Elphinstone and Mahalaxmi stations on the western rail line and between Dadar and Byculla on the Central line - began in the early '90s. Large parcels of land became available for commercial, retail and residential development. One crucial element of the development was, however, forgotten: the upgradation of the colonialera stations adjoining the newly-created malls and skyscrapers that were once mills and one or two-storey chawls to accommodate the workers.In the four years starting from 2008, Lower Parel alone witnessed the launch of nine major projects with nearly 8 million sq ft office space, more than the entire Nariman Point. The total office space at the central business district on the tip of south Mumbai that was built on reclaimed land is 6 million sq ft, and was absorbed and used over 40 years. Till the 2000s, it was the hub of Mumbai commerce - until the newer alternatives emerged. The office spaces in central Mumbai have now grown to nearly 11 million sq ft. How much more can they grow?"Further urban development in this area can be permitted only after the infrastructure level exceeds carrying capacity. It's not rocket science - infrastructure capacity needs to be augmented and it can be done but if there is willingness," said Chandrashekhar Prabhu, a senior urban planning expert. Prabhu thinks that existing flyovers around central Mumbai and their pillars can be augmented to take the additional load of elevated flyovers above them. There are approved plans for elevated train tracks above the existing routes, but they have remained on paper for years.Shubhranshu Pani, managing director, strategic consulting, JLL India, a real estate consulting firm, says that as an immediate measure there needs to be quality closed-loop feeder route services that will pick and drop commuters to and from offices and stations of Central Mumbai. "This will help decongest traffic and reduce private transport on roads. If trains arrive every three minutes, shuttle buses can be deployed at a frequency of every 10 minutes. If the government cannot operate them, private operators will be keen as this will be a profitable proposition," Pani suggests.Neha Mungekar, 30, was on the fated Elphinstone overbridge two days before the stampede to map out various options for crowd dispersal. The architect who is a senior associate at the WRI Ross Centre for Sustainable Cities has been working on ways to decongest Central Mumbai. "Only 8 per cent of the taxpaying population use cars; even in those families that have cars, half of the members end up using public transport or the footpath for their daily movement. So, we said instead of looking at how to accommodate vehicles in our existing infra, let's look at people movement where you make walking or cycling the preferred mode of transportation," Mungekar explains.The plan seems ambitious and daunting but Mungekar says there are ample public spaces available that can be utilised to build walkways or foot-over bridges that can connect the busy streets of central and western part of the city. "People in Mumbai walk out of compulsion, but if you design the pedestrian paths in a way that considers the convenience of the people, I think we can solve the congestion in these areas," Mungekar adds. She also sees enterprising opportunities to tackle the parking mess of the commercial districts - parking spots lying vacant in the residential high-rises can be rented out to employees of those working around; perhaps an app could indicate the vacant spots, which could be monetised by the surrounding apartments."I think incidents such as the Elphinstone stamped should make us look at wider corrections rather than narrow solutions. We cannot wait for another disaster to strike, it is inexcusable," says Mungekar.: In the four years starting from 2008, Lower Parel alone had witnessed launches of nine major projects with nearly 8 million sq ft office space, more than the entire Nariman Point, along the hub of Indian businesses. On the other side of this part is Parel, which houses some of the biggest public hospitals: Western-Central suburban railways, BEST buses, the newly built Lalbaug flyover passes through the east-central side that connects the western and central suburb. The proposed metro line is expected to run through these areas; there is also the pending work on the monorail, which will connect central Mumbai to the transharbour link: An official report from Railways says that Elphinstone, Lower Parel railway stations have the highest passenger load during peak hours of commute. Single foot-over bridges, incomplete bridge construction and lack of coordination in road traffic movements make the most important part of the financial capital an urban disaster.: The stampede that killed 23 people last month is a disaster that was predicted, once again highlighting the lack of planning before the areas went into redevelopment: Urban planners have mapped out pedestrians routes to build new a foot-over bridge that cuts across unutilised empty spaces around these zones. This is also under the Development Plan of the Municipal Corporation, which would help disperse the crowd to the key spots. This is doable, provided there is political will. A shuttle that plies people to and fro from their office areas to these railway stations is another suggestion to keep the movement of taxis and private cars lowGetting into the train at Bandra is an adventure and getting off at Andheri is scarier," is how Nipun Trehan, an executive with an entertainment channel who works in the sprawling business hub, describes his daily jaunt to work. From Andheri he then wades through another mass of people to board a crowded metro to Saki Naka. For barely 9 km, he endures a near 90-minute commute. The road wouldn’t be any better at peak hour.While the Western Express Highway is a couple of km away, the newer Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), ostensibly created to improve east-west connectivity, passes through next door. Neither road does much to ease the pain of daily commuters. "Even if you manage to get into an auto to Bandra and Kurla stations, both entrances are a nightmare," says 30-year old receptionist Clara James. "Bandra East (the entrance serving BKC) has one rickety entrance, and garbage is piled over the first couple of platforms; and in Kurla the entrance is packed with people, buses and autos all fighting for the same small area."While the BKC has become a magnet for large corporations, attracting financial heavyweights like Citibank, ICICI Bank and IDFC Bank, for employees working there it’s a daily struggle.The SCLR was touted as a much-needed relief, but poor design has upended many of those claims. On the other side, a perennially jammed Western Express Highway has only got worse with the onset of metro construction. "Driving home (17 km away) has now become a 17-km, 90-minute or two-hour endurance test," says Salil Doshi, a mid-manager with a financial services company. "Traffic, metro work and potholes comspecial bine to give you a daily drive from hell."The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority or MMRDA has been through at least three different versions of fixing this gridlock. First, it considered a couple of subways to clear the bottlenecks around the complex, then it enlisted a private advisory to streamline traffic in the complex and, as of 2014, it embarked on an ambitious plan to build three new flyovers to fix this problem.In the medium term, the construction of a new metro line, with stops within the complex, might offer another option for commuters, even if that project is at least two years away from completion.Already, more ambitious projects are afoot to ease access to this business district. For example, work on a flyover connecting BKC to the Bandra Worli Sea Link — which leads to central and south Mumbai — has commenced, as has another to lift traffic over the chaos at its Kurla entrance. In the next three or four years, the arrival of a metro line (No. 2B) from DN Nagar to the west, to Bandra and ending at Mankhurd, 9 km to the east, is also expected to help. A plan to have hybrid AC buses (running on diesel and electric power), which will connect Kurla, Bandra and Sion stations to the complex, should hit the roads this months too. "BKC needs more options to get us home and to work," says Ganesh Koli, an office assistant with a bank."Having a world-class complex with sub-standard infrastructure is an insult to all of us working here." Experts say that a high-visibility solution like multiple flyovers isn't just costly, but often superfluous. "At best these flyovers can be part of the solution, not at the core of it," says Ashok Datar, a traffic and urban planning expert in Mumbai."Instead, streamlining traffic and the extended use of bus lanes to improve access can be a far better solution." A year-long pilot project to provide dedicated bus lanes saw access to Bandra and Kurla station drop from 37 minutes at peak hour to 15. Datar contends that this bus lane idea can be extended on the WE Highway too, as far as Dahisar, 30 km to the north."BKC needs projects that can efficiently move many people efficiently. What it doesn't need are empty, vain boasts." Rather than AC buses, a more efficient transport mass transport system may be needed for BKC to be considered a truly world-class business complex. Until then, for the likes of Trehan, James and Doshi, gritting their teeth and bearing it may be the best option.: A key business hub for Mumbai, with high-quality real estate on offer for companies to set up shop.: Western and Central suburban Railways, with the Western Express Highway and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road also aiding access. Three stations of a proposed metro line will pass through BKC.: Both sides of the complex are gridlocked by poor access — from Bandra, the main entrance is choked by traffic converging from all directions and, at the Kurla entrance, the arterial LBS Road offers little succor. The ambitious SCLR backs up for a km or more at peak hour, due to poor design.: Reaching Kurla or Bandra stations — barely three or four km away — takes 20 minutes or more and both stations are a mess of autos and buses racing to beat the gridlock.: A flyover is being built just outside BKC to ease access to the complex, but the jams at local stations need to be cleared with better policing. The belated arrival of the metro in a few years should at least provide commuters another option. In the long term, with much more of BKC yet to be to developed, road and rail access will need to be massively improved for connectivity to be sorted.When he first interviewed for a job with a startup in Powai, finance professional Deepak Nagaraj was taken aback by the contrast between the private realtor’s setup and the state-run infrastructure that existed side-by-side. If the stately buildings and broad boulevards promised a break from the chaos of Mumbai, people working and living there were bought quickly back to reality thanks to poor access, constant traffic snarls and the exploding number of vehicles entering and haphazardly parking in the locality. "Getting from the airport to the entrance took me half an hour… Travelling the last couple of km to the business park took 20 minutes more," he reminisces. "There were office buses blocking half the road, school vehicles on one side and, like all of Mumbai, autos adding to the chaos." While Nagaraj took the job despite being witness to the chaos, he isn’t sure it is worth the effort of commuting nearly 20 km from Thane in the north to his office. "The constant battle can wear you down."Surrounded by industrial and commercial hubs of Andheri and Vikhroli and spread across 350 acres, Hirandandani Gardens’ distinct neoclassical buildings have become a magnet for top corporates and new-age ventures. However, over the last couple of years, signs of abrasion are beginning to show. "With over 100 buildings dotting the 350-acre area, offices have been packed in, not just around the swish core area, but next door at buildings such as Boomerang and Powai Business Park. If you want to reach a local train station — Vikhroli or Kanjurmarg on the central line — you face a daily battle," says Karthika B, a marketer at a startup in the area. "The distance is barely 4 km, but the effort to make it to your train is disproportionate to this." If 2012-2016 saw an explosion of startups (and the resultant increase in footfalls, rentals and traffic), the implosion in that space has resulted in a clear-out in some buildings, even if many don’t notice the difference. "Nothing has changed," says Meena Bhat, a local resident of three decades. "Traffic is yet unmanageable and between 6 and 8 pm, it can take a ridiculous 30 minutes to travel the 2 km to Hiranandani Hospital."Arun Shenoy worked at L&T in Powai for three decades and says that, in the past decade, the opening of the Jogheswari-Vikhroli Link Road -which connects the eastern and western suburbs - and more recently the metro line snaking through nearby Andheri has helped. But, not enough."This area has gone from being an isolated, verdant area to a commercial hub¡K It is now starting to split at the seams," Shenoy, who is a founder of Mumbai Vikas Samiti, a civic advocacy outfit, says. His concerns are that Hiranandani, Powai has limited road access (until recently differences with a local trust meant that access to the arterial LBS Marg was essentially a rutted mud path), is poorly serviced by bus and is disconnected from the suburban train system. Alok Anant, a hospitality executive, says that because of these limitations, even relatively short commutes (from Andheri, Bandra, Chembur - all 10-12 kilometres away) can take an hour or more to complete. "If I take the bus, this can double that time," he says. "And, with my late hours, even that isn't an option." For younger executives, Powai's transport limitations can be a dampener.Experts say that for this area to thrive as a new hub of commerce, these basics need to be fixed and more. For one, the roads around that are used as large parking bays for school and office buses need to be cleared out or regulated. While Hiranadani the realtor takes care of the core area (garbage, roads etc), adjoining streets are cratered, nearly beyond repair. Shenoy, the traffic expert, advocates more bus services, not just as a feeder to nearby stations but also longer-distance services, given the challenges with train connections.And, to get to agonisingly-close stations, frequent feeder services either by state-run BEST or private operators may help ease the area's commuting chaos. In the long term, residents and those who work in the area hope that a supplementary option, either the metro or monorail, provides fresh impetus to an area that is hanging by a thread - either to become a blueprint for commercial hubs in Mumbai or an example of a badly managed one.: A developer-led 250-acre self-contained location, which has become a hub for startups and technology companies.: Close to both highways that run through Mumbai, no station dedicated to Powai, with train commuters having to use nearby Vikhroli or Kanjurmarg stations to commute.: No access to a station for train users, access to highways restricted by narrow roads.: The internal road jam and those reliant on public transportation struggle. Commuting to residential neighbourhoods as close as 9-10 km away can take an hour or more.: Improving access from the arterial JVLR, streamlined access to local train and metro stations, aggressive use of newer modes of transport such as ride-sharing.One of the busiest suburban railway stations of the city, Andheri receives footfalls of six lakh people from 8-10am every day. It is the entry and exit point for those travelling from Navi Mumbai, the satellite town, and the eastern suburbs through the newly-constructed metro rail and the western suburbs, making it one of the busiest spots of the city. Besides being the constant subject of internet memes, Andheri once considered a infrastructure nightmare has seen an incremental transformation in the last decade thanks to the Mumbai Metro rail - a 11 km stretch that connects the western suburb to the east. The metro has received its share of flak."The high fares are leading to underutilisation of the service," feels Hussain Z Indorewala, an urban researcher with the organisation Collective for Spatial Alternatives. But still it is an alternative for the scores of commuters whose travel time has been cut by almost an hour.As the metro upgradation took place, the foot-over bridges too were widened, yet the sheer population density makes the overcrowding difficult to manage. Indorewala's organisation had also carried an accessibility survey of the suburban railway stations that looked at how disabledfriendly these important stations are. The results were not encouraging.There was only 37 per cent compliance to the railway guidelines at disabledfriendly stations, he says. Even basic facilities like guiding paths are absent according to the study which came out on the direction of a Bombay High Court order. "If you are making your stations disabled-friendly, by default it ensures comfort even for the rest of the commuters."Aparna Ramachandran, a resident of Versova and a daily commuter from Andheri station, thinks that commuters have given up on basic comfort while travelling. "Looking at the number of women who use the public transport, I am surprised why there aren't more women-only compartments," she says.Ramachandran, who migrated to Mumbai in 2007, points out that the suburban rail network gave her mobility which no other transport system provides in the city, but what startled her was how people of Mumbai compromised on comfort for convenience. "Why can't we have access and comfort together?" asks Ramachandran who works as creative director in a digital media firm. An immediate measure that should be taken in response to the Elphinstone stampede especially in stations like Andheri, she reckons, is to have railway traffic cops regulate the flow of people. The vigilance of station-keepers is the most important aspect to ensure that people don't overcrowd. There need to be enough shelters so that people don't have to crowd up on bridges to save themselves from rain as it happened at Elphinstone, she adds.Andheri for years has been the exit point of employers reaching out to the oldest special economic zone -the 45-year-old Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone - which houses some of the biggest IT parks and diamond trading companies. One would expect that a commercial hub that contributes billions of rupees to the country's economy would be kept in better shape, but just like most of crumbling infrastructure of key economic points, the state is still struggling to upgrade its cash cow.: The link for the metro station that connects to the eastern and western suburbs of the city, Andheri is also a major junction for interstate trains. The exit point of the suburban station is to reach out to the old industrial zones of Mumbai.This is also the rail and metro station to reach the international Airport. SEEPZ, the oldest Special Economic Zone of India is off Andheri; it once housed the diamond cutting industries and few IT outsourcing parks. Some continue to remain there.: Western and Harbour rail networks and Metro stations. The western express highway that connects to NH8 towards Gujarat and beyond.: Western Express highway that manages the traffic coming out of international and domestic airport is clogged during peak traffic hours. The lack of management in dealing with autos and buses right under the railway stations result in another bottleneck.: The density of people plying in and out of Andheri over the decades has come down as lack of space led to expansion towards further west of the suburbs. Yet traffic congestion and overcrowding are a bane.: Andheri railway station has undergone a massive revamp, with railway authorities widening bridges, increasing exit points to disperse the crowd. Suggestions to revamp the immediate areas around the railway stations include dedicated zones for hawkers.(Additional reporting by Kailash Babar)