Similarly, CR has planned to decongest Kalyan station platform numbers 3 and 4. Goyal said that along with some stalls, there is also a Railway office which needs to be demolished as this will provide more space to passengers waiting for trains on these two platforms.The Central Railway has started taking steps for the decongestion of three stations, Thane, Dadar and Kalyan, said Mumbai Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Rajnish Kumar Goyal on Thursday.
He said these three stations are heavily congested and need immediate attention. “To prevent any untoward situation, we have adopted short-term measures like removing canteens and eating stalls from Thane platforms 5 and 6. These stalls will be given a place where there is more space. Moreover, 18 long-distance trains (up and down direction) that used to halt at these two platforms have been shifted to platform number 7 and 8 of Thane railway station. All these measures will help decongest the existing platforms, giving more space to commuters,” said Goyal.
He said Central Railway is also carrying out a feasibility study for widening of Thane station platforms 5 and 6. “The feasibility report should be ready in the next five to six days. If everything goes as per plan, the platform widening work will be completed by March 2023,” added Goyal.
Similarly, CR has planned to decongest Kalyan station platform numbers 3 and 4. Goyal said that along with some stalls, there is also a Railway office which needs to be demolished as this will provide more space to passengers waiting for trains on these two platforms.
For decongestion of Dadar station, the platforms that have to be widened or changed are yet to be identified, said Goyal.
The Mumbai DRM has also sent a proposal to the Railway Board to allow ticket booking via UTS (Unreserved Ticketing System) from anywhere, including while inside the local train. Presently, if one has to book a ticket via UTS mobile application, they need to remain at a certain distance, say 2 km, from the station.
“In any developed city, one has a provision to book a ticket from anywhere and the same needs to be adopted. This will encourage people to buy tickets as there are several passengers who travel without tickets. Moreover, it will reduce dependence on buying tickets from ticket windows that also many a time see long queues, adding to the congestion in ticket-buying areas,” said Goyal.
Currently, only 7 per cent people buy tickets via the UTS mobile app.