Western Railway has undertaken various infrastructural works of development Inspite of the nationwide lockdown and limited workforce due to COVID – 19 pandemic.
It is worth mentioning that by converting the adverse situation of CRISIS of global pandemic into an OPPORTUNITY, Western Railway has completed many construction works of Foot Over Bridges (FOB), & Skywalks as well as has undertaken repair works of several Road Over Bridges, making best use of the lockdown situation. Further in this direction, Western Railway has accomplished yet another infrastructural work and has commissioned a new six meter wide Foot Over Bridge (Middle) at Bandra station. The work on this new FOB was completed on 28th September, 2020 and has been opened for commuters on the same day. This new FOB will be of great convenience to passengers as it connects all platforms of the station including east to west through MCGM Skywalk on west side.
According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Rly, the new FOB is 80 meters long and its width is 6 meters. This FOB has been constructed at an approx. cost of Rs 5 crore. It is constructed at the place of Old Middle Truss FOB which was declared unsafe in the Audit report of the survey conducted by IIT Bombay. The work on this FOB was started after dismantling the old 4.5 m width FOB in April 2019. The dismantling of old FOB as well as construction of new FOB was very difficult on account of it being located between FOB on south side and heritage structure on north side which was compounded by heavy rush of passengers during peak hours near this FOB. So the work was planned in stages to minimize commuter inconvenience at Bandra and even stop boards were shifted at PF 4, 5 to control the rush. Also, the work on this FOB was carried out inspite of ongoing lockdowns and scarcity of manpower.
Shri Thakur informed that this FOB is the most heavily used FOB at Bandra station as it connects all platforms including east to west through MCGM Skywalk on west side. Hence, this FOB has been constructed adjoining to the existing 6m wide FOB and now with commissioning of this FOB, the total width of middle FOBs in Bandra has become 12m which will also help in maintaining social distancing even in rush hours.
Shri Thakur further stated that over the Mumbai Suburban section of Western Rly, six new Foot Over Bridges (including the new Bandra FOB) & one new Skywalk have been commissioned and 6 old FOBs have been dismantled during this lockdown period. Also, the important construction works of Delisle Road over Bridge near Lower Parel station and Frere Road over Bridge near Grant Road station are in progress and being carried out in full swing.
