Title - First Central Railway escalator in Thane to move soon

On June 10, the first escalator of the Mumbai's suburban railways will become operational at Thane railway station station that caters to 6.5 lakh passengers every day. The Central Railway (CR) has already set up the escalator between platforms 3 and 4.

A second escalator would come up between platforms 5 and 6 and is likely to be commissioned by the end of June, said Mukesh Nigam, divisional railway manager, Nigam said that initially the railway staff will be positioned near the escalator to help commuters.

According to a recent study by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), Thane is one of the busiest stations, surpassing other stations like Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Churchgate, Andheri, Bandra and Dadar in passenger rush.

Two escalators each have also been planned at Dombivli, Kalyan and Dadar and one at Vikhroli this year.

The CR is spending Rs 80 lakh per escalator. Under its measures to control trespassing of tracks by commuters, MRVC also plans to set up 25 escalators and 16 lifts on the Mumbai suburban section.

Work is on to connect the elevated deck created under Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) for bus movement to the 12-metre wide new foot overbridge (FoB) at Thane by June 30.

This will provide seamless connectivity for commuters from the railway bridge on the west side. While the FoB was constructed last year, the lack of connectivity to the elevated deck was inconveniencing commuters.

There is a plan to also connect the FoB to the skywalk on the east side of the station. The officer said that it will be done with the help of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.