Mumbai: Lifts, escalators on harbour line stations soon

In all, six escalators, 11 lifts and six FoBs have been proposed at select stations — including Dockyard Road, Wadala, Mankhurd, Reay Road, Chembur, and King’s Circle.

Commuters along the harbour line can look forward to seeing better infrastructure at stations, such as new escalators, lifts and foot overbridges (FoBs), which will make the approach to platforms easier.

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In all, six escalators, 11 lifts and six FoBs have been proposed at select stations — including Dockyard Road, Wadala, Mankhurd, Reay Road, Chembur, and King’s Circle.

The project is expected to be completed by March 2015. The initiative, authorities hope, will also help curb trespassing. Contracts for construction have been issued for almost all the stations under the project, while work has already begun at Chembur and King’s Circle.

Wadala, one of the most congested stations on the line, which links the Panvel-CST harbour line to the CST-Andheri line, will get three escalators, three lifts and an additional FOB in the middle of the platform. The Mankhurd station is proposed to get an additional FOB, with two lifts and escalators.

More than 10 lakh commuters travel on the harbour line daily.

“We have surveyed all the stations and are upgrading the infrastructure based on people’s requirements,” said Rakesh Saksena, chairman and managing director, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation.

Each lift will cost Rs20 lakh and escalators will cost Rs1 crore. “Chembur sees a lot of trespassing incidents. Introducing lifts will encourage more people not to cross the tracks. The FoB will facilitate east-west connectivity,” said a senior MRVC official.