After Elphinstone Road stampede, railways put FoB work in Mumbai on fast track

The projects can be expedited as the railways have moved FOBs from passenger amenities to the category of mandatory safety items.

Construction of foot overbridges (FOB) seems to be the top priority of railway officials after the Elphinstone Road stampede.

The projects can be expedited as the railways have moved FOBs from passenger amenities to the category of mandatory safety items after the stampede. (FILE)

The central railway (CR) officials finalised a tender for construction of a new FoB at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) within 24 hours. While the cost of the FOB is Rs2.97 crore, the work is expected to be completed within six months. Recently, the western railway officials also finalised and allotted the construction a 12-m FOB at Elphinstone Road station within a day.

The projects can be expedited as the railways have moved FOBs from passenger amenities to the category of mandatory safety items.

Sunil Udasi, chief public relation officer, CR, said, “The FOB will be constructed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) end of the station to near the new station building of Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. It will be 6-m wide and will connect all five platforms.”

While commuter associations have welcomed the move, they want the railways to speed up work on other passenger amenities too. “The Indian railways started acting quickly after the death of 23 people at Elphinstone Road station in September. The move is good. We need an FOB at LTT. However, the railways should also look at passenger amenities,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.