Stainless steel will help fight the high air-borne salts present in Mumbai's air thereby preventing corrosion and rust on the bridge
There are total three foot-over bridges at Bhayandar station
Amid the lockdown, Railways is set to begin work on country's first stainless steel foot-over bridge in national pioneering project at Bhayandar station with the the preparatory work already underway.
After a series of bridge mishaps, the option of stainless steel was recommended by experts as a solution to fight rust and corrosion. The bridge which was approved by the RDSO even during the lockdown is being built by Western Railway (WR).
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"Work on Indian Railway's first-ever stainless steel foot-over bridge across all platforms at Bhayander will commence soon. It will be about 10 metres wide and 67 metres long, replacing the old 2.7metre-wide bridge, allowing smooth and spacious movement of passengers," WR chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said.
A senior official said that the bridge will be located at the Churchgate-end of the station and as the work begins, the old bridge will be shut for public use. The work is expected to complete by the end of this year.
Although using stainless steel will make the project costlier by around 25 per cent, the structure will be corrosion resistant and will reduce maintenance efforts in a corrosion-prone environment of Mumbai as compared to conventional steel, thus benefitting greatly in the longer run.
As per Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA), the apex body of stainless steel manufacturers, there is an urgent need for choosing the best material for safe and maintenance-free infrastructure.
KK Pahuja, ISSDA president said, "ISSDA is ready to provide all support in the form of technical knowledge to the government and civic authorities in this matter. As per industry data, around 1,35,000 rail bridges exist in India, of which about 25 per cent are over 100 years old and need immediate replacement. Though more than 1,000 bridges are rehabilitated every year, there is a huge backlog in rebuilding these bridges."
"India has a coastline of 7,500 km which mandates the need for a stainless steel infrastructure. Given the high air-borne salts in marine environments, bridges in these areas are exposed to rapid corrosion," Pahuja further added.
"We are very happy that this bridge is coming up at our own township of Bhayander. It will be a template for all future bridges on railways as per the directives of the railway board. I welcome this whole-heartedly," Shailesh Goyal, former member of Western Railway Zonal Users' Consultative Committee member and a resident of Bhayander said.
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