Mumbai: Central Railway sanctions funds for station roof extension

Central Railway will be spending Rs4.36 crore to extend the roof of platforms at CST, Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Mulund and Dombivli stations where 15 coach trains currently halt. This has been a long-standing demand of the commuters and CR officials have often faced flak from commuter organisations on this count. The heavy downpours during monsoons and the sun beating down during the summer would only make the problem acute for passengers. 

According to the work order issued by CR's construction department, the tenders will be opened by end of October and work should begin by the end of this year. CR started its first 15-coach trains in 2012 but in the haste to start these trains, it overlooked the need to extend the platform covers. "The powers-that-be at that time were keen that the 15-coach trains should begin by end-2012 so the money for the project was used to lengthen the platforms to make them 15-coach ready. Ideally, extending the platform roofs should have gone side by side," said a railway official.

"It is a very good decision. I have so often seen people stand underneath the covered part of the platform which resulted in these coaches being crowded rather than an even distribution of crowds in all the 15 coaches of the train. This was defeating the purpose of running longer trains," said Manish Chaturvedi, a Bhandup resident.