Mumbai's longest FOB to save you the long walk at CST

Come Independence Day and you will be free of having to take a long walk all the way to the end of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to exit the station. Central Railway is all set to inaugurate a new foot over-bridge there on August 15, the longest such structure in the city.

The FOB was constructed at a cost of Rs 7 crore and will rid you of the need to walk all the way to the southern end of CST to exit the station

The bridge, which is at the northern end of CST, is 270 metres long and 5 metres wide, and will connect 18 platforms, including 7 suburban platforms of both Central and Harbour lines and 11 platforms of long-distance trains. Over the last couple of years, the CR authorities were constructing this massive FOB that connects both Main line and Suburban line.

It will bridge 18 platforms seven on the suburban section of both main and harbour lines and remaining 11 on the outstation portion and is on the north end of CST station. CR has spent Rs 7 crore on the structure, after the construction work began in 2011.

Much needed
"Only final finishing touches are pending. We look forward to opening it for the public on August 15," said a CR official on condition of anonymity. The tiles and roof of the bridge are red and cream-coloured, making it visible from a distance. Officials said it will ease movement of passengers alighting from both local and long-distance trains, who currently have to walk all the way to the south end of the platforms to exit the station, a distance of almost 1 km.

On one end of the bridge is D N Road, which connects to the J J Flyover and further goes on to join the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road. On the other end is the P D'mello Road, a crucial road for people on the Harbour line that further connects to the Eastern Freeway.

Officials added that one needs a bonafide ticket to use the FOB tickets for suburban or long-distance trains will suffice. "There is no need to have separate tickets for both suburban or main line for using this FOB," said Mukesh Nigam, divisional railway manager (Mumbai), Central Railway.

'Rail Neer' plant
In another opening on the same day, CR will also inaugurate their biggest ‘Rail Neer' mineral water plant at Ambernath. Rail Neer is not available at stalls in Mumbai, as Indian Railways doesn't have it in the western region, though it is found inside Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto Express trains.

This plant will be able to produce around 2 lakh bottles of one litre capacity every day. Railways manufacture 4 lakh bottles daily at their 3 plants across different parts of India. The Ambernath plant has been built at a cost of Rs 10 crore, on 4,000 square metres of land. Each bottle will be sold for Rs 15.