mid-day impact: MRVC starts ground work to implement improvements suggested by mid-day's in-depth rail audit of 2017
Work on the platform at Badlapur station has begun
The railways has finally begun work on home platforms at Badlapur and Ambernath stations, as part of a makeover for stations that were identified during the mid-day station audit series in 2017.
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At both stations, the plan is to build a new platform on the west side to make the existing platform 1 a double-discharge one like those at Kurla and Parel, where passengers can alight on either side. This will help ease congestion.
Work on the roof at Badlapur station has begun. Pics/Rajendra B. Aklekar
The new platform will also have a bridge landing, a senior MRVC official said. "The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has just begun ground work on the stations," Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar confirmed.
Besides this work, other projects at Badlapur station include construction of a new middle foot overbridge, extension of the skywalk towards the Karjat-end on the west side, a booking office and public toilet, an MRVC source said.
Barricades have been set up at Ambernath station where digging work will begin soon
There is also a plan to put up boundary walls to avoid trespassing on tracks and the work has been classified under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3. During the mid-day station audit in October 2017, mid-day had found the platform narrow with a lot of unnecessary elements, such as water kiosks, that took up space at Badlapur.
The station had no cover over platforms at the south end, resulting in people sitting at the base of the footbridge staircase, blocking it. The north-end of the station does not have a bridge at all.
The platform at Badlapur station will run under the skywalk
Following the report, the railways promised that the stations were in line for development. Both these stations had been highlighted during the railway board chairman's visit last year.
A visit by mid-day on Tuesday revealed that the crowding on the staircase of the foot overbridge of platforms 1 and 2 still remained at both stations and the new platforms are expected to ease them. Also, small roof sheds have now been erected at Badlapur station.
A view of where exactly the platform will come up. Illustration/Uday Mohite
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