Mumbai: Are Central Railway's FOBs really safe for commuters?

A midday survey of footoverbridges at 13 stations along the 32km between Thane and CSMT has revealed missed inspection deadlines and lack of routine checks With most maintenance schedule boards showing April 2019 as the last inspection date and November 2019 as the next due date the situation points to a lack of seriousness by the Railways and raises concerns of passenger safetyEarlier this year the IITB and the Railways had conducted a joint safety audit of all the 445 roadoverbridges and FOBs on both the Central Railway and Western Railway lines in order to improve the facilities and focus on commuter safety Following this a few bridges were demolished and accountability boards with inspection schedules were put up on all the FOBsThe board at Masjid station does not mention the inspection datesAll of this was done after the CSMT bridge collapse this year in order to gain the publics confidence and fix accountability as well The boards mention important parametres like the condition of bridges person incharge last inspection date and the due date for the next inspectionPast due dateOf the 19 stations between Thane and CSMT midday visited the 13 busiest ones It was found that the inspection due dates of at least eight FOBs at five stations had lapsed While at few stations the boards have been updated some do not have the boards at all While the board at CSMT mentions that the last inspection was done this month and the next is scheduled for December 2020 and has been certified as safe for public use the one at the southend bridge of the Masjid station has no mention of inspection datesBoth the maintenance schedule boards at Matunga and Dadar railway stations show November 2019 as the next due date for inspectionAt the busy Byculla station the inspection due date of both the southend and northend bridges has lapsed as it was November 2019 The last time both the bridges were inspected was in April The boards on both the bridges mention that they are safe for public use but require routine inspection At Chinchpokali too the inspection due date has lapsedAt Parel suburban terminus station both the north and southend bridges were inspected in November 2019 and the next due date has been mentioned as May 2020 on the boards However what is shocking is that the Railways has missed the inspection deadline November 2019 of one of the biggest FOBs at Dadar station which is used by over 5 lakh passengers daily The signage says that the FOB is safe for public use and was last inspected in April Similar is the condition of the southend bridge whose inspection due date has also lapsed Same is the case of both the Britishera bridges at Matunga station and the southend one at Sion stationHowever all those at Kurla Ghatkopar and Bhandup show proper inspection schedules and the boards at Mulund mention May 2020 as the next inspection due date Surprisingly at Thane station none of the FOBs have proper signage while an old bridge is in the process of being dismantled and upgrades However Railway officials said the bridges were being inspected on time and there were no lapses anywhereIs this a joke The boards are there in public domain mdash the Railways need to show some seriousness regarding them They not only make commuters lose trust in them but also may lead to panic situations said Subhash Gupta member of National Railway Users Consultative Committee The Railways need to be serious about bridges and their maintenance schedules especially after the dangerous incidents that Mumbai has witnessed said Nitin Parmar member of zonal railway users committeeThis board at CSMT mentions December 2020 as the next inspection due date a whole year laterSafety is our prioritySpeaking to midday CRs chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said A detailed safety audit of all the FOBs has already been conducted Action has been taken to dismantle and shut down bridges wherever required Safety is the Railways priority and continued efforts are being made to undertake repairs We have repaired about 70 FOBs in this year and work is being done based on priorityThis year a detailed inspection pro forma has been issued for inspection of FOBs The inspection dates on the display boards are being updated There has been no negligence on CRs part None of the bridges are unsafe he added Retired railway board member engineering and former CR general manager Subodh Jain said that there was no danger as the inspection schedule was prepared with enough buffer time19Total no of stations between Thane and CSMTMissed deadlineByculla station 2 FOBsChichpokali 1 FOBDadar 2 FOBsMatunga 2 FOBsSion 1 FOBCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates