Make railway station infra commuter-friendly

The police station narrowing down platform no. 1

With a new multi-storey building above platform number 12 for the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station nearing completion, the decongestion of Dadar railway station on Central Railway (CR) has entered a crucial phase.

The existing Dadar railway police station on platform 9A not only occupies much space, but also narrows down the platform significantly. The idea is to remove the structure from the platform and shift it to the new building, making way for platform expansion. There will also be a deck over the platform once it is widened. The new building overlooks the main circle opposite Swaminarayan Mandir and has access to the main road.

Following a series of articles by mid-day on how the railway police had been struggling to manage the crowd at Dadar's narrow slow line platform on CR, former Mumbai divisional railway manager Rajneesh Goyal had promised to widen the platform and also drawn up a master plan of the station to create more space for passengers, including other platforms.

Decongesting train platforms, accounting for access and exit spaces near railway stations, is always a welcome move. Besides the obvious convenience and easier negotiation by thousands of commuters, this also enhances safety. As crowds swell, railway authorities have to be constantly looking at ways to create space for commuters.

Station upgrades or facelifts include not just hi-tech additions but also making Mumbai's most used and crowded spaces safer in this way.

Some time ago, this paper ran a piece on how Prabhadevi railway station space was being decongested. Now, all work needs to go according to the timeline and safety procedures need to be followed while carrying it out. More power to making stations infrastructure commuter-friendlier.