Mumbai: Roofless Central Railway platforms set to singe commuters

A senior official said whenever passenger amenities like a foot overbridge etc are added, the roof cover is supposed to be removed temporarily

Many commuters of the Central Railway know exactly what they will be doing this summer. Baking on umpteen platforms that have been left roofless, while they await their trains. Despite multiple requests by commuters and assurances by the authorities, the Central Railway is yet to get roofs for all its suburban stations, leaving gaps on platforms. Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had promised to get them roofs and has asked the railways to deliver on priority.

To give the job a push, Goyal had also said that he had put it in the safety works category, but it does not seem to be helping in any way, as work is yet to gather steam, since no one is monitoring it.

Mind the gap
"Many of the station's roofs are being replaced, but gaps also remain. Thane station is an example. There have been so many complaints and there are so many gaps," commuter activist Subhash Gupta said.

"At Kurla, they have removed the roofs of all platforms and there is no sign of putting them back. There is no monitoring and the gaps remain," a commuter, Bharat Ranjan, said.

A senior official said that a number of stations in Mumbai are being upgraded and whenever passenger amenities like a foot overbridge etc are added, the roof cover is supposed to be removed temporarily, but it has been found that it is never put back. All the stations where a new footbridge has come up, like Bhandup and Mulund, have a roof missing. At Mumbai CSMT for example, the north end of the station has a vast space with a roof missing for years.

"The problem at Masjid Bunder is more serious with none of the extended 12-car platforms having a roof, and the railways claiming the reason for that as no space to construct pillars for it. But the railways should find some solution, perhaps by changing the traditional design and building a smaller roof, instead of leaving it as it is. Charni Road on the Western Railway has a good example," a commuter, Prashant Purohit said.

CR speak
"Due to massive infrastructure upgrade, roofs have been removed at some places to facilitate the work. We have planned to provide roofs at missing places as per norms before the monsoon sets in, in Mumbai. An action plan is being drawn up and we will ensure that all possible stations are covered under it," Sunil Udasi, CPRO said.

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