Rs 8.5 crore stands between bridging gaps at platforms

The lows and highs a commuter goes through on the platformsat Western Railwayrsquos suburban stations are treacherous enough to bring them down The slope of platforms that dip and rise without warning widening the gap from the trainrsquos footboard create yawning holes that have swallowed commuters in the past And work to level the disorderly inclination has halted dead in the tracks because the money has run out Big leap for mankind The gaps between the platform and the trainrsquos stepping board force commuters to stretch their muscles to get onboard File Pic The repair work at many suburban stations has either stopped midway or hasnrsquot even taken off because the authorities are falling short of an amount of Rs 85 crore needed to bridge the gaps MiD DAY has reported on the deadly gaps many times in the past lsquoRailway team visits to check platform height on WRrsquo September 3 2012 lsquo17 inches between life and deathrsquo March 31 2012 MID DAY has regularly reported about the issue ofu00a0the dangerous gaps between trains and platforms For the last many days commuters have been weaving their way around cement slabs lying on platforms sprinkled with other construction material But there is no repair work going onu00a0Officials in WR claim that contractors have had to slam the brakes on the reconstruction activity at many stations due to a dearth of funds They have been going to the railway offices to getsome clarity on the status of finances but none seems forthcomingu00a0 The plan was to raise the height at 32 platforms at different stations on the western line at a total cost of Rs 13 crore But officials say they have only been sanctioned roughly Rs 45 crore Currently the work of raising the height is either under way or completed on 11 platforms at seven different stations These are Charni Road Grant Road Elphinstone Road Lower Parel Khar Mumbai Central and Andheri These stations were lucky enough to be funded from the sum of Rs 4 crore which was fully used up for straightening some of their platforms leaving others waiting for further release of fundsu00a0Divisional railway manager Mumbai Western Railway Shailendra Kumar said ldquoWe have written to our headquarters for allotting the balance of funds so that we can complete this essential workrdquo Once the money comes in the work is likely to resumeu00a0 Height issues Disparate heights within the stretch of a single platform at many stations spell trouble for passengers specially the elderly and the women who struggle to board and alight across the gaping holes WR authorities are working on raising the platform height to a uniform 960 mm from the level of the tracks Presently this height is in the 760840 mm range at different stations while a localrsquos footboard is around 1200 mm from the ground which means therersquos a 40cm gap between platform and train on an average Contributing to the difference in the height of platforms are the springs that come attached to the underframe of the new local trains The springs raise or lower the rakersquos height depending on the number of people inside the coaches So a crowded local would be lower hence closer to the platform than a sparsely filled oneu00a0 Height of problem 760 mm 840 mm Current height of platforms from the ground level 950 mm Proposed height of platforms from ground level 1200 mm Height of a trainrsquos footboard from ground level 1244u00a0 Number of deaths that occurred on the tracks on WR April 12March 2013u00a0