FOBs at Mumbai’s Elphinstone Road and Currey Road stations to be ready by Feb 15, not Jan 31

Deadline extended because of technical reasons, say Union railway minister; Ambivli station FOB will be ready by the end of this month

Train commuters in Mumbai who pass through Elphinstone Road and Currey Road stations will have to wait a little longer to use the new foot over-bridges (FoB) being built there by the Army.

Army officials at work to build one of the FOBs. (Vijayanand Gupta/HT File Photo)

The deadline to complete these two FOBs, which are being constructed by the Army, has been extended from January 31 to February 15 because of technical reasons, Union railway minister Piyush Goyal has said.

The FOB at Ambivli station, however, will be ready by the end of this month and meet the deadline.

While speaking at an event on Saturday, Goyal said: “The Ambivli FOB will be ready, but there are technical difficulties with the other two FOBs, and their completion will take a month’s time.”

Railway officials said the Army requires a few more mega blocks — blocks of time when train traffic is restricted — to complete the construction work. “The new deadline for the two FOBs is February 15. The Army will require more blocks from both the central and western railways,” said a senior railway official, who did not wish to be named.

A month after the Elphinstone Road station stampede, which claimed 23 lives, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the Army would construct FOBs at these three stations, following a review visit to the site of the stampede with Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The FOBs are being constructed by the Army’s engineering wing. Work to build the FOBs began on November 23.