Foot overbridge at Ambivli station in Thane inches closer to completion
Girders laid for Rs2.7 crore bridge which will be ready by month-end
In the five-hour mega block between Kalyan and Kasara, the Central Railway (CR) completed the work of laying a girder for the foot overbridge at Ambivli railway station on Thursday.
This is the second foot overbridge at the station. The old bridge, which is more than 100 years old, is towards the Mumbai side.
The railways had announced a mega block from 10 am to 3 pm.
The work for the foot overbridge was completed by 2.30 pm and the block was lifted by 2.35pm. Trains from Kalyan towards Kasara left the station at 2.52pm and the first train after the block left Kasara for Kalyan at 2.44pm.
The railways cancelled 54 services and changed the routes of some of the mail trains during the mega block.
Around 75,000 commuters travel from Ambivli station every day. The station is between Kalyan and Titwala. There are eight stations between Kalyan and Kasara.
The work to build a foot overbridge, whose estimate cost is Rs2.7 crore, is being carried out by the railways and the Indian Army. The foot overbridge will be ready by January 31.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Transport (KDMT) plied additional buses to Kalyan, Kasara, Titwala and Asangaon during the mega block.
“Our engineers, overhead electricians, signal and telecommunication departments have successfully carried out the launching of girders at Ambivli station,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, Central Railway.
The railways decided to construct the bridge at Ambivli after the Elphinstone Road station stampede, which claimed 23 lives on September 29, 2017.
“Although the railways announced a mega block on a working day, commuters did not face any major problem as more buses were pressed into service. We had approached the railways to ensure that municipal buses ferry commuters during the block,” said Shyam Ubale, secretary of Kalyan- Kasara- Karjat railway passengers’ association.
“I took a bus from Kalyan station road to Ambivli when I came to know about the block. The bus was available on time and hence I could reach my workplace on time,”said Sanjay Mane, 30, a commuter.
The KDMT arranged for 10 buses on the Kalyan-Titwala route and appointed a team of 10 officials to ensure that the services were not delayed.
Around 3,000 passengers took the KDMT buses on Thursday. State Transport buses also ran extra services from Kasara, Asangaon and Kalyan.
The Central Railway also took up their maintenance work during the five-hour block. A total of 500 Central Railway workers carried out various works between Kalyan and Kasara.
“The work was completed in a short span and the work completed in five hours is equal to 145 hours of maintenance work. We will give awards to the railway officials,” said SK Jain, divisional railway manager, Central Railway.