Will Jogeshwari be the next Elphinstone Road? This is what the Western Railway (WR) authorities fear due to the perennial crowding at the station. The narrow foot over bridges (FOBs) and their stairs leads to overcrowding and stampede-like situations. Earlier this month, railway officials themselves had written a letter warning the authorities about the stampede-like situations at Jogeshwari station.
The letter states that the platform is barely 25-ft wide and the space on the staircases of both the FOBs on north and south-end are insufficient. Apparently, the width of the staircase on the Borivali-end of platform 1/2 is barely 1.5 metres and that on the Churchgate-end is just 2.5 metres. “This is insufficient for the users. Moreover, the north- end FOB that has one turn is very narrow to accommodate users,” states the letter.
“There is no doubt that the situation is serious and there is possibility of a stampede. We have informed the WR authorities but they don’t seem serious about the situation at Jogeshwari,” said Mansoor Darvesh, resident of Jogeshwari and secretary, Passenger and Traffic Relief Association.
From February 3, the situation has gone from bad to worse after the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation installed iron fencing on the west side near the Borivali-end. “This was needed as trains would pass the tracks next to this opening. We shall soon be extending the Harbour line services all the way till Goregaon,” said a WR official.
This closure has made it worse as sources said that this has caused stampede-like situation as people are forced to push one another to climb this narrow bridge.
A WORRIED LOT
- The WR officials themselves are so worried of the situation that some of them have suggested removing the fence installed there until work on new FOB on the middle is complete. Even the catering stalls are making things difficult for people to walk. “We are working on widening the staircase of the FOBs at Jogeshwari station,” said Ravinder Bhakar, Chief PRO, Western Railway.
