Elphinstone Road

Kandivali

Western Railway

Mumbai's Rail Network feels the pressure again: Kandivali FoB shut till July 31 01:37

Jogeshwari Railway Station

Andheri

AT JOGESHWARI, YOU MUST WALK ALONG THE TRACKS

Jogeshwari

AT KANDIVALI, A 30-MINUTE WAIT TO ACCESS FOB

No point baking in the sun for 30 minutes just to enter the (Kandivali) station. Yogita Karthika, Commuter

AT ANDHERI, THE WIDEST BRIDGE DOESN’T CONNECT TO BUSIEST PLATFORMS

I now travel on a slow train as it stops at platform number one or two. At platform eight and nine, the bridges are so narrow, one might get crushed in a stampede Aishwarya, Commuter

If you thought lessons were learnt from last year’sstampede that killed 23 people, you’re living in La-La Land. A look at three stations that are Elphinstones waiting to happen.Overcrowding and lack of infrastructure -- Mumbai’s Achilles’ heel which got brutally exposed on September 29 last year when 23 people were killed in a stampede on a foot overbridge connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel stations -- is again threatening a similar tragedy at three of the busiest suburban stations in the city. Since last Thursday (April 12), when one of the four foot overbridges atRailway Station was shut after the(WR) officials ruled it irreparable, serpentine queues can be witnessed during the rush hour outside the station on the eastern side, with hundreds of commuters attempting to access the narrow stairway and the escalators leading to the platforms.Such is the chaos that commuters fear another Elphinstone Road-like stampede is just a push and a scream away. The railway officials have said the foot overbridge will remain shut till at least July 31 – by which time they are hoping they would have constructed a new one – even as commuters report that the lone escalator is also not functioning at all times.Similar problems are witnessed at, where scores of commuters can be seen walking along the tracks (on the western side) as there’s barely any space on the bridges leading to the platforms. Commuters have to queue up on platform number two to enter or exit the station, even as a dozen people jostle for space on the landings of the bridge which can accommodate at best three people.At Andheri, the situation worsens, especially for those trying to access platform numbers eight and nine that cater to trains to and from Virar and the long-distance trains. The widest bridge atwhich connects the station to the metro terminus has no access to platforms eight and nine, and the bridges that lead to these platforms are too narrow for the surging crowds.Commuters, especially in the west, access the tracks via a broken wall and walk along the tracks for around 50 mts to access the platforms.resident Sumit Majalkar, who commutes to CST every day, said the FoB towards the northend is too narrow with one queue of passengers getting off while the other of those getting in.The railway has undertaken a decongestion project at Jogeshwari station, wherein the width of platform number three will be reduced, the tracks between platform numbers two and three will be moved towards platform number three, and platform number two will be widened.The queues leading up to the Kandivali Railway Station are more than a km long, and it takes an average of around 30 minutes to just enter the station.The foot overbridge that was shut on April 12 was the only one connecting Kandivali East to the station. Now, the only way to enter the station from the east is to get on a narrow escalator which can accommodate only two people per step. “This escalator also remains shut most of the times,” said Kandivali resident Pratab Shukla, who commutes to Churchgate daily.Take a skywalk, but it will drop you a km from the station. Or, take a bus or an autorickshaw all the way to Borivali station, like Jai Hind College student Yogita Karthika does. “No point baking in the sun for 30 minutes just to enter the station,” Yogita said.A team of Western Railway officials inspected the Kandivali station recently, and it was decided to raze the boundary wall on the east. It will allow passengers to access platform number one and take an overbridge to reach other platforms. Divisional Railway Manager (Western Railway) Mukul Jain said, “We are working on providing access to commuters through one of the FOBs.”Platform numbers eight and nine, which cater to fast trains to and from Virar, are not connected to the widest bridge at the station. Such is the chaos and the crush on the bridges that do lead to these platforms, that commuters have complained of suffocation on the stairs.Aishwariya Padhke, who travels to Andheri from Virar, said she has stopped taking fast trains altogether because of this mess. “I now travel on a slow train as it stops at platform number one or two. At platform eight and nine, the bridges are so narrow, one might get crushed in a stampede,” Aishwariya said.The Railway Protection Force has taken precautions to ensure there is no stampede. Also, another overbridge for the south-end of platform number eight has been planned to connect it with other platforms but it will take at least a year for it to come up.