The services of Mumbai local, the lifeline of the Maharashtra city, have been affected due to Central Railway's 63-hour mega block which started May 30 midnight for or platform extension works on the Mumbai network.
The mega 63-hour block is in effect since Thursday midnight for platform extension and widening works at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and the Thane station.
The services of Mumbai local, the lifeline of the Maharashtra city, have been affected due to Central Railway's 63-hour mega block which started May 30 midnight for or platform extension works on the Mumbai network.
According to Central Railway, a total of 930 local train services, including 161 on Friday, 534 on Saturday and 235 on Sunday, have been cancelled during the mega block at CSMT and Thane.
Central Railway's 63-hour mega block began on Thursday, May 30, midnight for platform extension works on the Mumbai network.
In view of the possible impact on services of local as well as long-distance trains during the block period, the railways appealed to commuters to avoid travelling by local trains, if not necessary.
The mega block is in effect for platform extension and widening works at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and the Thane station.
The widening of platform nos 5 and 6 in Thane started 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," Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of Central Railway's Mumbai division, told a press conference on Wednesday.
The widened platform breadth will help in providing facilities like escalators or wider staircases for Foot Over Bridge (FOB) to commuters.
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, as per a Central Railway release.
At CSMT, the length of platform nos 10 and 11 has been extended to accommodate 24-coach trains from the earlier 16 coaches.
While the extension-related work is already completed, the mega block will be operated mainly for carrying out non-interlocking (related to track changing points) works.
At Thane, platforms nos 5 and 6, which witness overcrowding due to the narrow width and operation of both mail/express and local trains, are being widened by 2-3 metres.
Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railways, said a total of 72 mail-express trains and 956 suburban trains on the main and Harbour corridors will remain cancelled from Friday to Sunday, according to a news agency PTI report.
Several mail-express and suburban trains will be short-terminated and short-originated from Wadala, Dadar, Thane, Pune, Panvel and Nashik stations.
He said the Railways has requested the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to operate extra buses for the convenience of passengers.
According to Central Railway, a total of 930 local train services, including 161 on Friday, 534 on Saturday and 235 on Sunday, will be cancelled during the mega block at CSMT and Thane.
Initially, the railways had announced cancellation of 956 local train services but later it decided to operate 26 services. For the block period, Central Railway has short-terminated and short-originated local as well as long-distance trains from Dadar, Thane, Wadala, Nasik and Panvel stations.
The Railways has short-terminated 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.
Central Railway said these blocks are essential for infrastructure upgradation and long-term benefits. Rajneesh Goyal said the CR has also almost completed the work for providing a double-discharge facility on platforms 10 and 11 of the busy Dadar station and planning to finish the pending work in the next two days.
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, the PTI report mentioned.
The platform widening work at Thane station would have taken three to six months in normal course, Central Railway officials said, adding that it 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.