Mumbai: Hey Western Railway, watch this step!

The last curved step on the landing that is troubling commuters

The landing of the new footbridge on Bandra station's east side has led to many commuters falling and hurting themselves. The last step on it is curved, causing them to slip, especially during rush hour in the crowd. Regular commuters said they have been complaining to railway officials about the step on the heavily used staircase, but to no avail.

'Corrective steps needed'

"The new bridge is wide and very helpful during rush hour, but the last step of its staircase on the east is curved, leading to many commuters slipping and falling," Shweta Mankani, a regular commuter said.

Commuters said the Western Railway needs to integrate the last step with the existing road design. "During rush hour one cannot look down while walking due to the crowd and falls down," another commuter, Anurag Verma said.

The area outside Bandra station in the east is already a mess with the skywalk shut and half the road barricaded by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for BEST buses. To add to this, auto drivers bully their way through to catch commuters. The footpath under the skywalk is also encroached upon.

'A huge problem'

"For railway officials, it could be a minor problem, but not for commuters. The Western Railway needs to be more responsive to commuter complaints," said Shailesh Goyal, a member of Western Railway's Zonal Consultative Committee, the official passenger representative body on WR.

Railway officials said the new bridge was not supposed to have such a comprehensive landing, as it was to be linked to the skywalk above. However, the BMC, after an inspection and a VJTI report, declared the skywalk to be dangerous for public use and abruptly shut it, leaving the commuter dispersal planning in a mess. WR then had to give the bridge this landing.

Western Railway had planned one of widest footbridges at the station. mid-day had followed up the issue on November 15, 2018, in its report, 'Breathless Bandra station to get relief with new fob.' A WR official had said that the new footbridge built for about R8 crore was to be linked to the skywalk providing additional connectivity to it, as well as decongesting the existing middle footbridge.

WR Chief Public Relations Officer Ravinder Bhakar said they will look into the matter and work on integrating the staircase with the footpath and road design in co-ordination with the BMC.

Rs 8
Cost of building the new foot bridge in crores

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