Flyover delay at 3 level crossings derails train schedules

THANE: The schedule of local trains is suffering due to an inordinate delay in building flyovers at three level crossings between Thane and Kalyan in Kalwa, Diwa and Thakurli.
The gates at each of these crossings remain open for about five minutes at a stretch for vehicles to pass. As there is sizeable traffic on either side of these three developing townships, the gates have to opened many times.This brings trains to a halt on all six lines many times daily leading to delays.
Considering that each gate remains open for five minutes at a stretch, a railway source estimated the loss of around 200 minutes of running time between 8am and 8pm.
“In a dense network like this, even a two-minute delay causes bunching on the tracks, which can have a cascading effect,” said a railway source.
Few months ago, a truck had got stuck at the crossing at Diwa disrupting train schedules for several hours. Last week, train schedules again went haywire due to a delay in closing the gate at Thakurli.
The railways said they have been requesting the local civic bodies to develop bridges over the tracks. Except for Kalwa, the plans for developing a bridge over the other two gates are yet to take off.
“We have been interacting with Thane Municipal, Corporation to come up with a solution for over bridges, but there seems to be no development on the front,” said a railway official requesting anonymity.
Thane civic officials said they have received requests from the railways and are working on the same. “We are ready with our plans for constructing a bridge at Kharegaon and have also received demands from the railways for another bridge at Diwa,” said a civic official.