Railways to submit Army drawings to CRS today for approval

The Army now plans to submit proper designs of the bridges to the Railways by November 23. (File)

Chasing a deadline to commence work on the foot overbridges (FOBs) from November 25, the Railways plan to submit the approved General Arrangement Drawings (GAD) of the bridges to the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) on Wednesday. Approval from the CRS is essential for the Army to begin work on the bridges. Last week, the Army submitted the drawings of the bridges to the Railways for approval. Senior railway officials said the drawings were approved, with due recommendations for changes. The Army now plans to submit proper designs of the bridges to the Railways by November 23.

“Only after approval from the CRS, and that of the designs can we give a go-ahead to the Army to begin work on construction of the bridges. They plan to commence work from November 25. Work would be undertaken on the three bridges simultaneously,” said a senior railway official. The officials added that the construction material would be parked at respective stations from Wednesday. The material is being used from the Army’s reserves.

“We will essentially check the designs of the bridges for two things, if they have the required safety clearances and are not infringing any existing station amenity. Our sanction would also be required before the foundation is laid,” Shushil Chandra, CRS, western circle, said. Last week, officials had raised a red flag over the new foot overbridge possibly overlapping the proposed plan of the Parel terminus. However, officials have given a go-ahead to the Army for their design.

“We will bring suitable changes to the design of the Parel terminus to ensure that it does not interfere with the design of the bridge,” a senior railway official added. The Bombay Sappers would construct three bridges at Parel, Currey Road and Ambivali stations on the Central Railway. They aim to complete the work by January 31.