11 June,2016 08:00 AM IST | | Shashank Rao
The Railways will spend Rs 2 crore to install the escalators at CST’s foot over bridge
The UNESCO world heritage Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) will soon have escalators installed. The Railways are planning to install escalators for its only foot over bridge, which is the longest in Mumbai.
The railway officials said they didn't want the station to miss out on something new. File pic
This shall probably be the first machine to be added to CST over the past several years now. "The CST comes under the jurisdiction of Indian Railways and so no permission is needed from us. Also as long as it doesn't harm the building in any way, permission will not be required," said an official from Archaeological Survey of India.
The railway officials said that they will be installing two escalators that will cost Rs 1 crore or so each. These shall be installed between platforms at the FOB landing on Harbour and Main lines.
"There is only one FOB at CST that connects all 18 platforms. These two escalators will come up where the suburban system operates," said a Central Railway official.
As CST is a heritage building, the escalators required some thought before they could get clearances internally as well.
A couple of months ago the CR authorities extended the platforms on Harbour lines. At present train services are being run with 12-cars on CST-Panvel Harbour lines. In 2014, the CR extended the existing FOB on the suburban system all the way to platform 18 on the side of P D'mello road.
The officials said that there are buffer zones that define the construction allowed, and according to them infrastructure is created.
"We wont be putting pressure on the existing FOB with these escalators," said Narendra Patil, chief PRO, Central Railway. The authorities are planning 42 escalators across the Mumbai suburban system and say that they didn't want the 130-year-old railway station used by 1.30 lakh people everyday to miss out on something new.
