CR’s new skywalk to link Prabhadevi RoB to Parel station

This will enable commuters walking on the RoB to directly reach Parel station’s platforms without having to go through Prabhadevi railway station, which falls on the adjacent Western Railway (WR) line.

Central Railway (CR) has started work on a 500m skywalk to connect the platforms of Parel railway station to the Carol (Prabhadevi) road overbridge (RoB).

The skywalk will be constructed on the eastern end of Parel station, starting from platforms one and two to the newly-constructed 12m wide foot overbridge and then to the RoB. (Samson Tupdal/HT Photo)

This will enable commuters walking on the RoB to directly reach Parel station’s platforms without having to go through Prabhadevi railway station, which falls on the adjacent Western Railway (WR) line.

The skywalk will be constructed on the eastern end of Parel station, starting from platforms one and two to the newly-constructed 12m wide foot overbridge and then to the RoB.

An elevated ticket booking office will also be built on the skywalk to aid commuters walking in from the Dadar end.

CR plans to complete the skywalk by the end of 2020.

“The final stages of planning for the construction of the skywalk are going on. Passengers coming from the RoB will be able to take the skywalk and reach Parel station,” said a senior CR official, on condition of anonymity.

The official said the skywalk may also be extended once the proposed outstation passenger terminus at Parel is completed.

According to CR, the skywalk at Parel station is part of a larger plan that involves the creation of two additional railway lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus(CSMT) and Kurla station that aim to segregate local and outstation traffic.

Passenger associations said the skywalk would decongest the crowd on the road and on foot overbridges.

“The connection between Carol RoB and Parel station should have been done long ago. It was demanded by many passenger associations,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad. “Finally, the commuters will have a direct connect to Parel station. The skywalk will decongest the bridges.”

In March 2019, CR had converted Parel station into a suburban terminus at a cost of ₹51 crore. This was done to reduce the load of trains and passengers at Dadar station.

The project was part of the second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Projects (MUTP-2).