The Mysuru City Railway Station, where two state-of-the-art escalators were inaugurated on Saturday, will soon have two heavy-duty lifts and a subway connecting all the six platforms.
Railway sources told The Hindu that two heavy-duty lifts, each costing Rs. 60 lakh, will become functional on platforms 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 by the end of December this year. The lifts can carry 20 people at a time.
“The electrification work is complete. Some amount of civil work is pending,” an official said.
Similarly, the work on construction of a subway connecting all the six platforms is also progressing fast and is likely to be completed by January next year. Work on the 64.42-metre subway connecting all the six platforms began two years ago. The work was scheduled to be completed by March this year. The delay in the completion of the project drew criticism from the High Powered Passenger Amenities Committee of the Ministry of Railways, which visited the station on Friday.
“The work on digging of the tunnel has been completed and the concrete boxes, which are part of the subway, have been installed. Work on the entrances and exits have to be completed,” the official added.
The subway is six metres wide and 3.35 metres in height. It has been designed in such a way that there will be no steps.
The incline of the subway is such that users can move from one platform to another without ascending or descending steps.
“We did away with the steps for the convenience of passengers, particularly the disabled,” the official added. A flat subway without steps will also help operating trolleys.
The two heavy-duty lifts and the subway along with the escalators are expected to provide a major relief for passengers using the station, who are now forced to lug their baggages across a steep foot overbridge, located at a height of over 6.5 metres.
These facilities will also prevent passengers from walking across the railway tracks, putting their lives at risk.
The escalators inaugurated on Saturday will operate in one direction depending on the arrival and departure of trains.
“If trains are departing from the station, the escalator will be aiding the passengers to board the trains. Similarly, the escalators will be operating in a direction facilitating the passengers when a train arrives on the platform,” the official said.
The escalator is designed to carry around 100 passengers in one minute.
The High Powered Passenger Amenities Committee has also recommended the railway authorities to set or programme the escalators in such a way that the users do not trip and fall down.
Also, the committee has suggested that the energy conservation mode of the escalators be activated.
