Madurai railway junction will soon have its second foot overbridge (FOB) as the work for the steel FOB is under way.
The FOB will come closer to the main concourse hall thus sparing the passengers from walking a significant distance to reach the existing concrete FOB to cross over to the platforms in the middle. The older FOB, also a steel bridge, was dismantled around five years ago as it was wornout.
Railway Construction wing has taken up the work at a cost of ₹6.25 crore.
“The new bridge would have 4.5 metres of gangway which is wider than that of the old steel bridge which was very narrow,” a railway official said.
The bridge has been designed by Research Designs and Standards Organisations of the Indian Railways.
The 104-metre-long bridge would land into the concourse halls outside the first and the sixth platforms of the railway junction as the platforms were not wide enough to hold the landings. The bridge comes with a new design of stanchion or pillars.
It would have staircases on one side in every platform. A railway official said that some related works like shifting of few railway facilities like the cloak room and information room have to be taken up.
Besides, a portion of the roof of the railway junction building had to be redone to accommodate the bridge that has been constructed at a higher altitude, the official said.
Since the bridge has been constructed connecting the concourse halls outside the platforms, people crossing the tracks to the other side of the junction would be passing through un-ticketed area.
An official said that the steel bridges are cheaper in capital investment compared to the concrete bridges. The steel bridges required a periodical maintenance against rusting. However, the advantage was that the steel would fetch good returns after the dismantling of the bridge even after decades.
A total of 315 tonnes of mild steel would be used for the construction of the FOB. The work is expected to be completed by October.
