Mumbai: CSMT to get Metro station like flap gates in a month

A cop makes announcements for passengers entering the CSMT

With the Central Railway finalising the plan of installing flap gates at the Mumbai CSMT within a month, it is set to become the first railway station in the city to have the special feature. However, a similar plan for the Churchgate station is still in the planning stage.

mid-day had earlier written about multiple plans that the railways were working on to convert suburban stations into access-controlled ones like Metro stations.

Requesting anonymity, a senior railway official said, "We will install flap gates within a month for long-distance passengers. The gates can be accessed only using QR-coded tickets. The gates will have both a QR code scanner and a thermal scanner. Passengers will have to scan the ticket details at the gate to enter the railway station. Access will be granted only after ticket details and body temperature are validated."

A layout of CSMT shows the exact position of the proposed flap gates

Currently, a QR code is generated for tickets booked through the IRCTC website or PRS counters. The code carries all the ticket details, which passengers can access through the IRCTC app or by clicking the URL provided in the SMS received on booking the ticket. According to the official, this initiative would facilitate safe travel during the pandemic, promote social distancing between passengers and railway staff, help in detecting unauthorised access to station premises and rationalise human resources.

Ticket checkers at the CSMT have already been given optical character recognition (OCR) ticket scanners using which they can scan all kinds of tickets, not just QR-coded ones.

While Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar confirmed the development, Western Railway officials said a similar feature was being planned for the Churchgate station.

However, as per the plan, two main entry points at the CSMT outstation terminus where passengers get down from taxis will have flap gates. Gate A would have two gates and Gate B three of them.

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