Central Railway plans to dismantle arterial middle bridge at station, commuters to be hit

THANE: Railway commuters using Thane station daily are likely to face inconvenience soon as the Central Railway is now planning to permanently dismantle the arterial middle bridge at the station that was shut during the summer season for undertaking massive repairs.
The decision was taken at an internal meeting where the engineers suggested the bridge be dismantled instead of continuing with the repairs. The structure was shut for repairs since February for a massive overhaul but the team working on it reportedly decided to not continue with the repairs and instead consider a new facility.
A senior railway official from Mumbai confirmed the development and said a formal announcement is likely to be made soon. “Our panel of engineers concluded that there was no point in spending money on the bridge repairs as the structure seems to be unable to take further load in the future. The engineers have suggested dismantling the same,” said an official who was present during a meeting where the issue was discussed.
The bridge connecting all ten platforms at the station has ramp facilities and is considered to be one of the oldest at the station constructed probably in the mid-90’s. The structure was strengthened from time to time, informed officials. However, after the Elphinstone road tragedy, the railways decided to further strengthen it considering the constant wear and tear on it. Accordingly, the access to the bridge was shut starting February but nearly after three months, precious little work has been done as officials claimed constructing a new structure would be more practical instead of reworking on the old one which apparently has seen massive wear and tear. The issue was even discussed at a meeting held with the engineering department of the station recently. Meanwhile, activists claimed passengers may face inconvenience once the summer season ends and the volume of daily passengers return to normal as the existing bridges at Thane are already facing additional burden. “Ideally, the administration should have taken a decision before starting the work and spending money. There is already lot of crowd at the station round the year and shutting down this vital bridge may lead to crowding at adjoining bridges especially during peak hours,” said Ashok Joshi, a regular commuter.
A senior official from Mumbai denied there would be any inconvenience to commuters but said a date for pulling down the structure will be taken after analyzing the availability of a mega block. “The engineering department has suggested pulling down the structure instead of repairing it. We will find an appropriate time to dismantle it. There will be no inconvenience to commuters who can use the other alternatives at the station, including the new bridges constructed,” said a senior railway official from Mumbai.