CR starts decongesting Dadar and Thane railway stations

Both Dadar and Thane stations cater to almost 8-10 lakh commuters every day making them densely crowded. Now, CR authorities have started taking measures to ease congestion, which involves creating more space on platforms and improving the punctuality of trains at these two railway stations

Mumbai: Constant intervention by railway passengers has finally borne fruit as the Central Railway (CR) has begun work to decongest Dadar and Thane stations, two of the busiest and most important stations in the city. This action follows a week after various passenger associations met CR’s top boss RK Yadav who on January 28 inspected different railway stations, including Dadar and Thane during which passengers raised issues about suburban train commute.

CR starts decongesting Dadar and Thane railway stations

Both Dadar and Thane stations cater to almost 8-10 lakh commuters every day making them densely crowded. Now, CR authorities have started taking measures to ease congestion, which involves creating more space on platforms and improving the punctuality of trains at these two railway stations.

“At Dadar, metal fencing between platforms 10-11 will be removed, while platforms 5-6 at Thane will be widened. Both these works are expected to be complete by May end,” said a senior official from Central Railway.

At Dadar, the work involves creating a double-discharge facility where commuters can board and alight from either platform that will be bought at a uniform permissible height to help in faster dispersal, especially during peak hours. In addition to removing metal fencing on Platform 10, obstructions such as food stalls, benches etc. will also be.

“We raised the need for the double discharge facility at Dadar, and are glad that rail authorities have taken up this work,” said Yogesh Khemkar, a member, of Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh.

Sources said this will also help in provisioning starting trains from Dadar on the fast line towards Thane and Kalyan, especially during peak hours. Ever since platform 9 (formerly platform 2) was surrendered by CR authorities, it ended the continuous running of trains originating from Dadar.

“This is possible but considering the current train operation constraints, we will have to study its feasibility. However, this double discharge at Dadar will certainly improve the system’s punctuality when it’s ready,” said another CR official.

At present, there is inadequate use of platform 10 which mainly caters to long-distance trains, while platform 11 is where Thane/Kalyan bound fast trains halt. CR authorities recently widened platform 8 after surrendering platform 9 where CSMT-Thane/Kalyan bound slow trains arrive.

Likewise, at Thane station, CR is widening platforms 5-6 which also caters to fast trains towards CSMT and Kalyan. Senior officials said there’s a plan to widen platforms 5-6 from the current 8 metres to 11 metres which will require shifting tracks and even the plantation between platforms 4-5 to accommodate the widened portion.

“These two platforms were a big reason for congestion at Thane station. We raised this issue and sought improvement in the overall situation. It’s good that this work has now begun,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, of Thane Railway Pravasi Sanghatana.

At Thane, railway authorities are also constructing new FOBs and escalators, and taking up station area development plan (SATIS) on the east for integration of rail and road networks outside the station.