Mumbai: Central Railway main line to be free of level crossings soon

Mission Zero LC Gates on Central Railway Mumbais main line may finally become a reality in one year While midday had reported about the status of the Kalwa gate that is likely to shut next year two more of those troublesome level crossing gates at Diva and Ambivli are all set to go as work gathers momentum in the lockdownThe three level crossing LC gates at Kalwa Diva and Ambivli put together brought to a standstill 55 trains over 5 minutes every single day as they opened every 1520 minutes collapsing the entire timetable Road bridges over these gates have been pending for decades due to a number of complications by local municipal corporationsWhile railway portions of the bridges had been ready years ago the landing and approaches being constructed by civic corporations ndash the Thane Municipal Corporation in case of Kalwa and Diva and KalyanDombivli Municipal Corporation in case of Ambivli ndash had been delayed due to land issues and subsequent court casesAmbivliWork on the 800metreslong 10yearold road bridge across the main line is now close to completion and once this is done the level crossing gate that has been delaying all trains on the KalyanKasara route will be shut While planning began around 20102011 the bridge is being built at a cost of R1710 crore The railway portion of the bridge had been constructed as early as 2015 but the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation was unable to complete the approaches due to land issues and a subsequent legal case The level crossing used to open every 2530 minutes detaining 10 trains over 5 minutes every single dayA civic engineer said that with all hurdles now cleared the case and land issues have been resolved work has been speeded up and approach roads are being constructed Work is expected to be completed by Januaryend and residents may get this bridge as a New Years gift in 2021 he saidThe bridge being built at Ambivli to close the level crossing gateDivaThe bridge at Diva faced a huge delay due to lack of availability of land on the east side Now a decision has been taken about the same This is one gate that delays all six railway lines and is a major block for punctuality A joint inspection by railways and Thane Municipal Corporation TMC officers was conducted last month On the east side there is a pond which will have to be filled along with removal of some electric poles equipment Once this is done work on the foundation work can begin On the west side piling work is already going on and is being expedited as labour availability has increased The railway tender has been awarded for fabrication of girders and if everything goes well we will try to complete the railway portion in one year by December 2021 a senior official saidCentral Railway Chief Public Relations officer Shivaji Sutar said Closing of the gates will play a crucial role in maintaining punctuality of trains and subsequently not cancelling suburban trains on account of gate opening This may help run trains with full numbers which is important to maintain social distancing in the pandemicDelays due to LCsDaily average detention of trains for more than 5 minsDiva 30 trainsKalwa 15 trainsAmbivli 10 trainsFrequency of opening LC gatesDiva Every 1520 minutesKalwa Every 1520 minutesAmbivli Every 2025 minutesKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news