Mumbai: Commuters welcomed by metal rods at Thane station

Hazardous material jutting out of the under-construction and soon-to-be complex for the railways keeps wary commuters on their toes

Thane railway station's new parking lot may be a promising source of revenue for the railways, but metal rods jutting out of the under-construction complex are giving commuters using the foot overbridge on one of the busiest station's western side a hard time.

Thane station, with 10 platforms, is one of the busiest suburban railway stations, handling over 6.54 lakh passengers daily with more than 1,000 trains passing through.

The station caters to fast and slow trains, the trans-harbour locals, terminating and originating trains and about 60 mail and express trains.

The parking lot on the west side has been allotted to a contractor for R1.56 crore, which will result in a cumulative income of R4.69 crore over three years.

However, commuters expressed concerns about safety. Riddhi Nagarkar, a Thane resident said that the iron rods jutting out near the base of the new foot overbridge look scary and could hurt someone. "The sharp edges are close to where commuters walk and with such a huge number of people, always running up and down in a hurry to board trains, these could prove dangerous. The railways should be sensitive about what they do at busy stations."

Airoli resident Nityanad Kamar, who switches trains at Thane station agreed. "The new building that has come up on the west has some dangerous rods jutting out. They could pose a hazard to the commuters," he said.

Central Railway's Senior Public Relations Officer Anil Kumar Jain said, "We will take up appropriate measures to rectify the issue," he said.

The parking lot being built on the station's western side covers an area of 3,352 sq metres and is expected to accommodate approximately 2,500 vehicles.

This is in addition to the parking area at the station's eastern side, being built over an expanse of 2,500 sq metres.

This area is expected to accommodate around 1,700 vehicles, including bicycles, two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

The mega-parking lots are also expected to eliminate unauthorised parking and de-congest the area outside the station.

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