Mumbai's local train network will face a big disruption over the next few days. The central railways has announced a 63-hour mega block which will lead to cancellation of as many as 930 Mumbai local trains.
Disruption in Mumbai train network
This mega block will facilitate infrastructure upgrades, specifically, platform extension and widening projects at two key stations - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in South Mumbai and Thane Station. As per a press release by Central Railway, a 63 hour special block will be implemented at Thane and a 36 hour Special Block will take place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
"A 63-hour mega block for the widening of platform nos 5 and 6 (in Thane) will start from Thursday midnight while a 36-hour block for the works related to the extension of platform nos 10 and 11 (at CSMT) will kick in from Friday midnight," said Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of Central Railway's Mumbai division
Rajneesh Goyal further said that once the platform breadth is widened, facilities like escalators or wider staircases for Foot Over Bridge (FOB) can be provided. The block for the works related to the extension of platforms at CSMT and widening of platforms at Thane station will end at 3.30 pm on Sunday
Details of Blockage
72 mail-express trains and 956 suburban trains on the main and Harbour corridors will remain cancelled from Friday to Sunday. Several mail-express and suburban trains will be short-terminated and short-originated from Wadala, Dadar, Thane, Pune, Panvel and Nashik stations. The mega block is set to begin at 12 midnight on 30th May and conclude at 3.30 pm on Sunday, 3rd June.
ET Now has compiled a list of routes that will be affected along with its date and duration.
Block 1: 63-Hour Special Block at Thane (DN Fast Line)
Duration: From midnight of 30/31 May 2024 (Thursday/Friday) to 3:30 PM on 2 June 2024 (Sunday).
Affected Sections:
- UP Slow Line: Kalva (including CSMT end crossovers) to Thane (including all crossovers).
- DN Fast Line: Thane (including all crossovers) to Kalva (including all crossovers).
- UP Fast Line: Kalva (including all crossovers) to Thane (including all crossovers).
Block 2: 36-Hour Special Block at CSMT
Duration: From midnight of 31 May/1 June 2024 (Friday/Saturday) to 12:30 PM on 2 June 2024 (Sunday).
Affected Sections:
- UP and DOWN Harbour lines between CSMT (including) and Vadala Road (excluding).
- UP and DOWN slow lines between CSMT (including) and Byculla (excluding).
- UP and DOWN fast lines between CSMT (including) and Byculla (excluding).
The Railways will short-terminate 444 suburban services, including seven on Friday, 306 on Saturday and 131 on Sunday. A total of 446 local train services, including 307 on Saturday and 139 on Sunday, will originate from various stations.
The Central Railway operates more than 1,800 local train services on its four corridors- Main, Harbour, Trans-Harbour, and Uran, every day, which are used by more than 30 lakh commuters.
Platform widening work
The platform widening work at Thane station would have taken three to six months in normal course. The CR is adopting a new technology which will enable it to complete the work in less than three days.
"Usually it takes six months for the construction of a platform and if done very fast, at least three months. That is not possible in Thane's case and hence we are using hollow pre-cast blocks," an official said.
The platforms at the Thane station are mainly used for fast suburban local and long-distance trains. Hence, the widening work will be carried out on the DOWN fast line (towards Kalyan) and UP line (towards CSMT).
"The widening of platforms is important as a measure to control crowds on FOBs and platforms at Thane station," chief PRO Swapnil Nila said.
"We will be carrying 785 RCC boxes weighing two tonnes each to the platforms. These will be loaded on wagons that are usually used to ferry army tanks," said a CR official.
During the mega block, the tracks and overhead equipment will be shifted. Thereafter, precast RCC boxes will be placed and filled with construction material.
"We conducted a trial for laying this and it took around five minutes per RCC box," DRM Goyal said.
[With PTI inputs]
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