Badlapur finally gets its foot overbridge

The new FoB at the Karjat-end of Badlapur station

Commuters travelling from Badlapur railway station can finally avail the foot overbridge at the Karjat-end of the platform which is set to open today. mid-day had first highlighted the absence of a FoB at the north-end of the station in a station audit series back in 2018 and has been following up on it. The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) on Saturday announced that the construction of the bridge was finally complete.

The MRVC had started the work in April this year and began placing the mega girders for the 6-metre-wide FOB using a 200 metric tonne road crane in July this year. "The bridge is 6 metres wide and 49 metres long and has four staircases," an MRVC spokesperson said. It was built at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore.

The new FOB at Badlapur station has four staircases

While the station had a bridge and a connected skywalk at the CSMT-end, there was no foot overbridge at the Karjat-end, forcing commuters to use the tracks. The new bridge and a new platform will end this connectivity issue. "Work on the new platform, which was stranded due to delay in handing over land from the local authorities, has also started and will be completed soon," added the official.

Also Read: Obstacles removed, Badlapur platform work gathers steam

During the mid-day's station audit in 2018, it was revealed that the platforms at Badlapur were narrow with a lot of unnecessary elements, such as water kiosks, that took up space. The station had no cover over platforms in the south-end, resulting in people sitting at the base of the FOB staircase, blocking it. The north-end of the station does not have a bridge at all.

Following the report, the railways promised that both Badlapur and Ambernath stations were in line for development. Both these stations had also been highlighted during the railway board chairman's visit the same year.

Rs 4.5 cr
Cost of the FOB