Title - Vikhroli station set to get escalator

The activism of commuters at Vikhroli station has finally paid up as the Central Railway has begun the process of getting six-meter high escalators installed at the station. The station, which was not on the original list of railway board, was finalised later.DNA was at the forefront of the campaign that was launched by local residents to get a new footover bridge built and the level crossing closed“The one-meter wide escalator with a height of six meters will be built at a cost of around 62 lakh at the station along the footover bridge at the Kalyan end. The tenders will be opened by September end and the successful bidder will be given a time limit of three months to install the escalator from date of appointment,” he added.“The bidder will also have to get work out heavy maintenance schedules to maintain the escalator in perfect working condition, given the fact that there is so much of dust and pollution at railway stations,’’ he added. Of the 100 escalators sanctioned at various stations across the country by the railways, 31 have been planned at suburban stations of Mumbai on WR and CR. Other major stations include Mumbai CST, Dadar, Kalyan and Thane. The station recently got a new skywalk landing and a wider platform. Following the death of commuters, the railways shut down the level crossing and built a new bridge.