Rail roko threat disrupts opening of new CR lines

Vikhroli residents make CR postpone opening of lines five and six between Thane and Kurla; say will not allow inauguration until much-needed foot-over bridge is complete

Rail roko threat disrupts opening of new CR lines

Vikhroli residents make CR postpone opening of lines five and six between Thane and Kurla; say will not allow inauguration until much-needed foot-over bridge is complete

VIKHROLI residents, who have been demanding the construction of a foot-over bridge (FOB) at the station (see box), made the Central Railway (CR) indefinitely postpone its plan of getting two new lines five and six between Kurla and Thane operational yesterday.

Residents say they will not allow the new lines, work on which has been going on for eight years, to be started unless the FOB is constructed

Residents say they will not allow the new lines, work on which has been going on for eight years, to be started unless the FOB is constructed.

"The lines were supposed to be operational from yesterday, but we had to postpone it till further notice because of the persistent protests by Vikhroli residents and the Bombay Catholic Sabha," said a senior CR official, on condition of anonymity.

Last week, a meeting was organised between senior railway officials and members of Bombay Catholic Sabha to solve the problem, but the protesters were not convinced.

They told officials that they won't allow the railways to start lines five and six until the officials complete the construction of the FOB. During a meeting last year, CR officials had assured the protesters that the FOB would be complete by January, but they missed the deadline.

"Actually, nothing has happened on the ground," said Khushal Nagda, district president of Human Rights, an NGO involved in the agitation.

He added, "During last week's meeting, we told them that they have to complete work on the FOB before thinking about opening the new lines. They have now assured us that they will finish constructing the FOB by the end of May."

CR is hopeful that the lines will be operational shortly.
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"Once the lines are operational, we will be able to generate additional line capacity on the existing fast corridors because all the long-distance trains going to, or coming from, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) will run on these. Goods trains will also be diverted to these lines, easing suburban traffic," a senior CR official told MiD DAY.

The work of connecting the new lines with the suburban corridor near Ghatkopar is also being done so that long-distance trains can be diverted in case of emergencies.

BoxHead
Services on the Central line came to a standstill for two hours as more than 5,000 people staged a rail roko at Vikhroli station last November after three persons were run over while crossing lines. The level crossing at Vikhroli sees one of the highest numbers of deaths caused by people crossing railway lines.

5,000
Number of people who participated in a rail roko at Vikhroli station last year

The Other Side
A K Singh, PRO, CR, said, "The opening of Kurla-Thane lines five and six has been postponed till further notice because of unavoidable technical reasons. We are zeroing-in on the next possible date for the same."