Elphinstone, Currey Road & Ambivli station FOBs to be thrown open to public on Tuesday, Feb 27
Army has handed over FOBs to Railways today (Picture: ADGPI Indian Army)
In a good news for rail commuters, all three foot-over-bridges (FOBs) built by the Indian Army at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivli stations will be thrown open to the public on Tuesday, February 27.
According to officials, the FOBs were handed over to Railway authorities by the Indian Army today. The inauguration function will be held at Elphinstone Road station tomorrow at 3:30 pm.
The function will be attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre among others.
RPF personnel will be stationed at each end of the FOB during the first few days to help manage the crowd.
The Indian Army was roped in to build new FOBs in the wake of the Elphinstone tragedy, in which 23 people had died following a stampede at the FOB connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel stations on September 29.
While announcing the decision, CM Fadnavis said that the Army was tasked with the construction as it was in a position to build the bridges in a short span. The initial deadline for the completion of the FOBs was January 31.
While the FOB at Ambivli station was ready by the due date, the bridges at Elphinstone Road and Currey Road got delayed due to infrastructural challenges. Further, some work could only be done on Sundays to avoid inconveniencing commuters.
The new FOB at Elphinstone will help decongest both Elphinstone Road and Parel stations, which are used by around 3 lakh of commuters every day.
FOB Details:
Elphinstone Road:
Length: 70 metres
Width: 3.5 metres
Cost: Rs 18 crore
Currey Road:
Length: 30 metres
Width: 3.5 metres
Cost: Rs 3 crore
Ambivli:
Length: 20 metres
Width: 3.5 metres
Cost: Rs 2.7 crore
Last minute preparations. Building a roof in the elevated circulating area of Elphinstone station, a day before @PiyushGoyal visit to Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/G9fgYp5zgM
— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) February 26, 2018
