Central Railway to construct subway between Kalwa-Mumbra section to curb trespassing

MUMBAI: The Central Railway (CR) has decided to construct a subway between Diva- Kalwa and Mumbra railway stations, considered to be a sensitive zone of the CR suburban network due to accidents related to trespassing

MUMBAI: The Central Railway (CR) has decided to construct a subway between Diva- Kalwa and Mumbra railway stations, considered to be a sensitive zone of the CR suburban network due to accidents related to trespassing. The subway will be built at a cost of ₹1.35 crore. The subway will be accessible to people residing nearby the railway tracks along with passengers travelling between Kalwa and Mumbra railway stations.

The subway will be accessible to people residing nearby the railway tracks along with passengers travelling between Kalwa and Mumbra railway stations. (Agencies)

A senior Central Railway official informed, “The subway will be constructed majorly to curb the trespassing in the Kalwa- Mumbra railway section. People cross the railway tracks and walk on the tracks despite requesting them not to do so. There have been trespassing incidents in the railway section in the past too and we want to bring it to a complete halt. Other measures to stop trespassing across the Mumbai suburban railway tracks will also be taken.”

There are nearly 139 identified locations of trespassing by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel. The locations include railway tracks between Thane - Kalwa, Diva - Kopar, Dadar- Matunga, Kurla-Vidyavihar, Bhandup- Mulund, Wadala- GTB Nagar, GTB- Chunabhatti, section between Kalyan and Badlapur, Govandi station, Kurla- Tilak Nagar section, Bhandup- Nahur railway stations.

Further in order to prevent trespassing on the railway tracks, the zonal railway had earlier installed cameras on locations of frequent trespass in order to study the pattern of trespassing.

A 41 kilometre boundary wall is also being constructed in locations of frequent trespassing on the city’s suburban railway network.

Boundary walls have been constructed between Chinchpokli - Kurla stations and Bhandup and Mulund railway stations on the Central railway mainline.

Passengers’ associations have welcomed the move and have stated that the subway will help in curbing trespassing incidents. “Trespassing on the railway tracks should not be done. However, many passengers try to take a shortcut that turns out to be lethal. The location between Kalwa and Mumbra has heavy trespassing. The subway will definitely reduce trespass,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.