Maharashtra: Railways, BMC to jointly rebuild Delisle bridge

The BMC and Western and Central Railways officials held a meeting Thursday. (Express photo by Ganesh Tendulkar)

THE RAILWAYS and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will together rebuild the Delisle bridge across the tracks at Lower Parel station of the Western Railway (WR), with WR now set to draw up designs for the new bridge. The decision, taken at a meeting on Thursday between Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, comes weeks after the Railways and the BMC both refused to commit to the construction of the bridge. The Delisle bridge was shut for vehicular and pedestrian movement on July 24 after an audit by the Indian Institute of Technology-Powai found it to be unsafe for use. The Railways had started to demolish the bridge earlier this week.

“We would construct only that part of the bridge that lies within the Railways premises. While we construct the girder of the bridge, the municipal corporation will construct the approaches (staircase) of the bridge. We are yet to make a final design plan for the new bridge. The existing bridge will be demolished within three months,” a senior WR official said.

Goyal also reviewed other suburban railway projects included in the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III and III-A, which deal with expansion of railway lines in the city.

“Projects that face land acquisition issues, especially the Panvel-Karjat corridor and the Belapur-Uran corridor, were discussed. Expediting the pace of infrastructure projects was discussed,” said a Railways official.

Ahead of the year-long celebrations planned to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, Goyal directed the Railways to focus on cleanliness of station premises, tracks and toilets. Officials were asked to beautify more stations and display their local history on the walls.

“We have been asked to focus on cleanliness of the station premises in the coming month. All washrooms should have proper lighting and must be well-maintained,” a senior official said.

Meanwhile, traffic facility works on the WR that cost Rs 16 crore were also sanctioned on Wednesday. This will increase the speed of fast trains. “We have been asked to explore the feasibility of having a new main line terminal at Vasai Road station on the Western Railway,” said the official.

Further, Goyal asked both the Central and Western Railway to improve their punctuality record. The extension of railway lines on the Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli corridor, Pune-Miraj-Lonavala line, and till Borivali from Goregaon station on the Western Harbor line were also discussed at the meeting.