Starting Thursday midnight (May 30), Central Railway will have a 63-hour mega block for platform extension works in Mumbai at Thane and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). The planned works will result in cancellation of 73 outstation trains and 930 suburban locals between Friday (May 31) and Sunday (June 2).
Railways is considered Mumbai’s lifeline connecting the north and south of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The rail linkages are — Churchgate-Dahanu, CSMT-Kasara, CSMT-Khopoli, CSMT-Panvel, CSMT-Uran, CSMT-Goregaon and Thane-Panvel.
Except for Churchgate-Dahanu link, services on the other lines will be impacted, said Central Railway divisional manager Rajneesh Goyal.
“These blocks are essential for infrastructure upgradation and long-term benefits. Platform number 5 and 6 will be widened at Thane starting Thursday midnight, requiring a 63-hour mega block. At CSMT as well, two platforms will be extended starting Friday midnight,” announced Mr. Goyal.
Such scale of construction requires around six months of work while ensuring train services largely remain unaffected. The same work can be expedited if planned properly and can be done in a block of 63 hours or two and a half days.
To reduce inconvenience, the railway authorities have requested commuters to avoid travelling between Friday and Sunday and requested establishments to permit their employees to work from home.
As per the plans that have been chalked out, several outstation trains will be short-terminated as well as short-originated at Dadar, Thane, Pune, Panvel and Nashik stations. Similarly, even those suburban locals that will operate will be short-terminated and short-originated at multiple stations along the Central Railway line.
There are plans to operate additional public buses on the affected sections as an alternate commuting mode.
During the block period, 161 suburban services will not operate on Friday, 534 on Saturday and another 235 on Sunday. In all, 444 local train services will be short-terminated, with seven on Friday, 306 on Saturday and 131 on Sunday.
Published - May 30, 2024 02:50 pm IST
