Thane: Titwala road widening boosts train punctuality

The widened road near Titwala railway station on Friday

Increasing the width of a road at a level crossing near Titwala station is helping decongest traffic, which, in turn, is reducing the detention time of trains. Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Dr Shivraj Manaspure said, "Level crossing gate 51 at Titwala was known for traffic jams and delays due to continuous traffic movement. This led to the detention of trains, which affected punctuality."

He added, "A road overbridge at the site is being planned at a cost of Rs 50 crore and works are underway. But until then, to speed up train movement and avoid detention, we decided to widen the road there so more vehicles can pass smoothly and in a faster manner without much delay."

According to Dr Manaspure, to ensure early clearance of road vehicles, the width of the road has been increased from the earlier seven metres to 9.5 metres. "In addition to this, road markings and retroreflectors have been put in place for better visibility at night. The height gauge of the gate has also been modified to increase its height and the gate boom has also been lengthened, in accordance with the increased width of the road," he added.

The entire exercise will shave off a few minutes in travel time. The other major, busy level crossing at Diva is getting a road overbridge so that it can be closed permanently. Work is at an advanced stage with the launch of ten girders earlier this month and it will be completed soon.