There is a reason why commuters staying in Thane and regularly travelling on the Harbour line of the city's railway connectivity protest and demand better services, an audit done by several agencies that inspected various railway stations following the stampede at Elphinstone Road station said on Tuesday. The stations on the Harbour Line receive a stepmotherly treatment. The audit team which visited the Reay Road station even asked the BMC to take action against illegal hutments that have come up on the bridge, endangering the safety of the structure.
According to the report, some of the busiest stations such as Wadala, Vashi on the Harbour line and Kalyan, Dombivali, Diva, Thakurli have major problems, calling for immediate attention.
The report states that Titwala, Asangaon and Diva stations, which recently witnessed rail roko protest, have been reeling under poor maintenance. The Diva station has problems such as the absence of train indicators on FOBs and narrow staircases. Despite a provision made for halting fast trains at the station, the set up has not been converted into a home platform.
At Thakurli, the civic body needs to build skywalks to connect the existing FOBs. The stations on the Kalyan-Kasara and Karjat sections are also in a pathetic state, the report said.
Kalyan, which has a heavy footfall, chokes under a poor passenger announcement system. The station is also not properly lit, the report said. The existing FOBs are rusted. There is also a need to build more FOBs and the platforms need to be renovated. Unauthorised shops and parking lots have also mushroomed outside most of these stations. The subways at Kasara have severe waterlogging and portions of it are also crumbling.
The FOB at Mankhurd station, which vibrates beyond normal range when a train crosses the station, also needs a quick attention. The heavy trespassing at Govandi station is also due to a lot of illegal parking of autorickshaws.
There is also no entry or exit points on the east of the Sewree station, the report said. The BMC is planning to build a FOB, but there is no landing on platforms. At Wadala, there are inadequate entry or exit points on platform 1 plus, but the landing of the only FOB there is heavily congested, the report said. There is a need for a single FOB connecting the railway and the monorail stations. Even the stations at Nerul and Belapur also need to be repaired immediately, the report said.
NOT ON TRACKS
- Some of the busiest stations such as Wadala, Vashi on the Harbour line and Kalyan, Dombivali, Diva, Thakurli have major problems, calling for immediate attention.
- Titwala and Diva stations, which recently witnessed rail roko protest, have been reeling under poor maintenance. The station at Kalyan also has poor passenger announcement system.
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