Dangerous Dombivli bridge to be pulled down in October

A banner has been put up outside Dombivli station announcing two traffic blocks for dismantling the remains of the FOB

Central Railway (CR) on Tuesday said the dangerous remains of the bridge at Dombivli station will be brought down in October and a new bridge built by December. CR was reacting to mid-day's October 8 report on the dangerous bridge.

BLOCKS essentially mean stopping and diverting rail traffic to facilitate the removal of the remaining portion of girders. However, there was neither any mention of a timeline for the construction of the new bridge nor an update on plans of the demolition of other such 'dangerous' bridges, which have been shut for the public but are still hanging over the rail lines at other locations.

A huge banner put up outside Dombivli railway station, however, says that the new bridge will be ready in two months, that is by December - which appears to be an impossible target. However, no one knows who has put up the banner. "Another foot overbridge measuring 12 metres in width is available for commuters at Dombivli station at a distance of approximately 50 metres from this bridge," the CR statement said, adding that a new foot overbridge will be constructed at the same location.

A regular commuter, Rajesh Heralgi, said, "The other footbridge is nothing less than a nightmare during peak hours. The one connecting platforms of up and down tracks is very dangerous and we witness a stampede-like situation on a daily basis. If any untoward incident happens, several people could lose their lives." mid-day had highlighted in its front-page report on Tuesday how the dangerous and rusted girders of the scrapped footbridge remain over the running lines Many other 'dead' and 'dangerous' bridges have been hanging at other railway stations, including two at the busy Kurla station, at Vidyavihar, Thane and Kalyan on the mainline itself without any timeline of removal or reconstruction.

Though the closure of these bridges has not inconvenienced commuters as alternatives have been available, activists allege that the safety of commuters in trains passing below is at peril since these bridges have been declared structurally dangerous.

02
No. of months it will take CR to build new bridge

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates