The area — Raoli Junction — has busy rail traffic with trains from both Navi Mumbai and Western Railway (WR) meeting at this point, along with occasional freight traffic of the Mumbai Port Trust. mid-day had highlighted locals’ complaints about how the Railways had inadvertently created a new shortcut during the construction of the FOB
A woman uses a gap in the wall to access the railway tracks at Wadala on July 9 (right) The breach is sealed, preventing trespass, on July 21. Pics/Rajendra B Aklekar
Railways have finally fixed the gap on both sides of the new foot overbridge (FOB) at Wadala. While gates have been closed and the wall plugged on one side, steel fencing has come up on the other side of the rail tracks. Despite spending Rs 7.8 crore to build the structure, the FOB had largely remained unused, as there was a big gaping hole in the wall just below the bridge, which people used as a shortcut across tracks.
The area — Raoli Junction — has busy rail traffic with trains from both Navi Mumbai and Western Railway (WR) meeting at this point, along with occasional freight traffic of the Mumbai Port Trust. mid-day had highlighted locals’ complaints about how the Railways had inadvertently created a new shortcut during the construction of the FOB.
A woman walks through an opening to illegally cross the tracks (right) The same spot on July 21
After the matter was reported, Railways sought time and, last week, started work on plugging the wall. Work on the wall has now been completed, and in addition to it, the railways have also fenced up areas near the bridge where there were spots for entry into the track section. The gate facing the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road has also been closed, but not locked yet, as some construction material is still lying around.
‘Essential to plug gap’
“We thank mid-day for highlighting the issue and hope Railways monitor the site so that the wall is not breached,” Wadala resident Harikrishna Mehta said. Another resident, Rehman Shaikh, said that the bridge was too high, but plugging the wall was important as there are a lot of schools nearby, and it would have been risky to keep the wall open. “Railways spend a lot on electricity. Why not provide escalators? Commuters will immediately start using them,” suggested AV Shenoy of Mumbai Mobility Forum.
Scary stats
When mid-day visited the site, it found at least three more breaches towards the Wadala end, where people have been crossing tracks, and the Railways’ attempts to wall up and fence up those stretches have met with strong opposition. As per official statistics, between January 2024 and December 2024, the Mumbai suburban railway network reported 2468 deaths and 2697 injuries due to various reasons, including trespassing/crossing of rail tracks.
The mid-section FOB between Wadala Road and King’s Circle station has been completed under Trespass Control Project works. The length and width of the bridge, which has two staircases, are 77.59 metres and four metres, respectively. Work on the bridge was completed in a record 216 days. The construction started in January 2024 and was completed in August 2024.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
