Mumbai safety audit: Things may get worse at Wadala due to new monorail station

Things are about to get worse at the junction station on Harbour line - Wadala - that connects to WR, courtesy of the new Monorail station set to be opened outside the suburban station

Wadala Road station doesn't have a rush hour; it has a crush hour. And the crowd is set to multiply at this junction station on the Harbour line from where trains depart for CSMT, Panvel, Andheri and Bandra, in addition to being a terminus for local trains. Reason: the new Mumbai Monorail Wadala station is ready and set to open just outside the suburban railway station, soon bringing more commuters here.

Wadala caters to commuters headed to Western Railway too, but quite poorly, as the frequency of connecting trains is very low. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The current crowd comprises residents, students and those looking to catch the connecting trains to WR.

Number-wise
According to a Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation and Wilbur Smith study on passenger counts, this station has the highest section load on the main Harbour line. To break up the footfall, about 87 per cent passengers travel in second class, while 13 per cent travel in first class, and among the total passengers, 21 per cent are women.

The new Monorail station, set to be opened soon, outside the Wadala suburban station

"There is no space to walk or stand at the station during rush hour. And all who travel on the Harbour line know that the frequency of trains going to WR is very low, leading to accumulation of crowds," said Dolphy Fernandes, a student and a regular commuter.

The ATM that restricts access. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Another commuter, Shalaka Biswas, said the access to the bridge at the Panvel-end of the station is in a complete mess. "The ATM near the elevated booking office blocks the way. Also, the narrow bridge of the Mumbai Port Trust that connects to the east is full of hawkers. The railways should take this up with the Port Trust authorities," she added.

Issues galore
The station's Panvel-end foot overbridge is very narrow and ATMs indeed block the entry-exit points. Platform 1, which is parallel to the station road, has no access at the CST-end, leading to a concentration of the crowd at the north end, which has two access points.

An erstwhile drinking water space converted into an office and the TC office at the north end along with canteens take up space, narrowing platform 1. And, surprisingly, the new wider foot overbridge in the centre does not have any landing on platforms 2 and 3.

"One thing the railways can do is build a new and wider bridge at the north end and organise utilities there. They could link other bridges, so that there is an elevated deck where passengers can wait, to avoid crowding on the platform," said Santosh More, a Dadar resident.

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