Mumbai: This 350m missing link will make walk to Bandra Terminus a breeze

Recent stampede scare puts spotlight on key missing link that has left passengers at the mercy of the autorickshaw cartel

A 350-metre foot overbridge (FOB) could help commuters heading to Bandra Terminus bypass the menace of duplicitous auto drivers and the chaos outside Bandra station. Auto drivers charge Rs 30-40 per passenger to ferry them between the station and terminus, dropping them off at the north end (towards Khar). The distance is nearly 400 metres because an existing south entry/exit gate of Bandra Terminus, which includes a booking office and circulating area, has been sealed by Railways.

The deserted skywalk that links Khar station and Bandra Terminus

The only other entry/exit point at Bandra Terminus is at the extreme north end. With the only available entry/exit point being at the extreme north end, the distance seems longer between the station and the terminus. Railways has been pushing for extensive use of the entry/exit near Khar station, but there isn’t much signage indicating where commuters at the station must go to reach Bandra station.

The current situation

At present, linking together small FOBs, Western Railway (WR) has a 1.2-km FOB or skywalk that links the Churchgate end of Khar suburban station to the Churchgate end of Bandra Terminus. It traverses the entire length of the terminus, passing over platform 1.

The eastern side of Bandra station, where commuters are fleeced by the auto mafia

While the long FOB at Bandra Terminus was built earlier, the final 314-metre FOB connecting it to the Khar suburban station was commissioned by WR in 2022. Joining the dots, this has now been made into a 1.2-km FOB, allowing for a seamless walk.

The lonnnnnnnnng walk!!! The 1.2km long skywalk from Khar to Bandra Terminus, running above platform one of the terminus is isolated, sealed & shut at its south-end, limiting access. The staircase, circulating area & booking office at this side are also locked with half the… https://t.co/du9F0HYQ8k pic.twitter.com/vYtUKJZk7t

— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) October 31, 2024

The final 196-metre stretch of the FOB, which takes one to the Churchgate end of the Bandra Terminus, is in a neglected state, almost abandoned with the main station entrance, along with a booking office, locked and sealed and not in public use.

Trial run

The 1.2-km skywalk, which links the Churchgate ends of Khar station and Bandra Terminus. Pics/Rajendra B. Aklekar

mid-day took a walk on the 1.2 km FOB from Khar station to Bandra Terminus to find that it is seamless, but deserted and isolated. It would be risky to walk on it in the night. Also, the bridge has limited entry/exit points, making it a difficult walk. It has vagrants sitting on it at certain points. The final 196-m stretch is in a bad state with broken tube lights, and locked and sealed gates at the north end. It does not even land on platform 1, but takes one to platform 3 as the main circulating area of the station at this end being locked up.

What can be done

Taking the same bridge ahead in the southern direction would bring this portion into good use and link it to the Bandra suburban station, ending all the connectivity issues. The bridge will have to run over the single STA (Suburban Traffic Avoidance) line parallel to the flyover and link to the existing north end (Khar end) bridge of Bandra local station. While FOBs exist at both ends, it is just a matter of connectivity between the two.

Commuter bodies push for change

“It is the most obvious thing and I have been highlighting with the railways for the past ten years for this and it is still not ready. It will save immense hardship that thousands have to face to travel between the two station complexes,” Rajiv Singal, member of Western Railway Mumbai’s Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee said.

The blocked exit at the Churchgate end of Bandra Terminus

“Yes. A skywalk should be there. But Railways should also place battery-operated buggy vehicles on this bridge as the station is vast. Such vehicles can ferry senior citizens and ailing commuters who will not be able to walk such distances. Also, it becomes difficult for passengers with heavy luggage to walk long distances,” Shailesh Goyal, former member, National Railway Users Consultative Committee, said.

Official Speak

WR officials said they had already proposed a 340-metre-long skywalk worth R24 crore to connect Bandra Terminus which will prove as an alternative to auto rickshaw drivers outside Bandra East station and will make it convenient for passengers to reach Bandra Terminus without getting down onto the road at Bandra station.

“The work of a new bridge at the north east end at Bandra station with the Bandra Terminus south end skywalk has been sanctioned and will be processed as it is presently under tender,” WR chief public relations officer Vineet Abhishek said.

Why the delay?

FOBs at Bandra station have been under development since the COVID-19 lockdown. In January 2020, the Churchgate-end 10-metre-wide FoB at the train station came into place. This was followed by dismantling and reconstructing of old FOBs at the station in 2021, followed by a few new bridges, including the one at Bandra LC gate end, Khar station (Churchgate end) and Bandra suburban station (Virar end). The maze of these bridges created a gap between the Bandra local and Terminus station where a proposal was first mooted in 2022, followed by a concrete plan in 2023. However, the actual implementation of the process was due to several factors and processing took time. As of 2024, the bridge now stands sanctioned on paper and has been pushed ahead for tendering. Once the tenders are finalised, work on the project shall begin, which may take a few more years.

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