New Delhi: In a rare and first of its kind gesture, the three newly constructed Foot Over Bridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road &Ambivali stations built by Indian Army were dedicated by the Mumbaikars in the august presence of Shri DevendraFadnavis Chief Minister of Maharshtra, Union Minister for Railways and Coal Shri PiyushGoyal, Shri RajenGohain, Minister of State of Railways and Dr. Subhash Bhamre – Minister of State for Defence at the inaugural ceremony on Tuesday, 27th February, 2018 alongwith two other FOBs at Currey Road &Ambivali stations of Central Rly. The inaugural plaque for newly constructed FOB at Elphinstone Road was unveiled by a flower vendor Shri ShivrajKonde, while the second plaque of Currey Road FOB was unveiled by a dabbawalla, Shri Sopan More and the third plaque of Ambivali FOB was unveiled by a fish vendor,SmtLataChandrakantKoli.
As a mark of gratitude towards the brave heart Indian Army, flower vendors specially decorated the Elphinstone Road FOB for its dedication to the nation ceremony. The Ministry of Railways had joined hands with the Ministry of Defence to build new FOBs over three of its Mumbai suburban railway stations, namely Elphinstone Road, Currey Road &Ambivali. The Indian Army commenced the work for construction of Foot Over Bridges at these stations on war footing and completed it within a record time of approx. three months. It aims to provide relief and also cater to the increasing commuter traffic at these stations.
On this occasion, Minister of Railways Shri PiyushGoyal expressed his gratitude, as a Mumbaikar, towards Indian Army for undertaking this magnanimous task and for completing it in a record time. He further said that since October, 2017, 20 FOBs have been constructed over the entire Mumbai suburban section. Out of these 3 have been constructed by Indian Army and 17 FOBs have been constructed by both WR & CR. Shri Goyal said “22 more FOBs are planned to be constructed by June, 2018 and 56 more FOBs have been sanctioned and will be provided within next 12 months.”Accordingly, a total of 100 new FOBs will be dedicated for the service of Mumbaikars. Shri Goyaladded that through the completion of various vital projects in Mumbai, “we shall cherish the dream of Hon’ble Prime Minister of “New India, New Railways”.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Fadnavis while addressing the media, thanked the Indian Army for their valuable contribution to the Mumbaikars and also to the Central Govt. for sanctioning a budgetary allocation of Rs. 55,000 crores since the last financial year for the development of railway infrastructure over Mumbai suburban section.
With these developments, Railways have speeded up the process of upgradation of infrastructure for passengers with safety point of view at all the suburban stations, with special emphasis on Parel – Elphinstone Road stations and such other stations for a more safer and convenient travel.
Details of the newly constructed FOB at Elphinstone Road
The new FOB at Elphinstone Road spanning a length of 73.1 mtrs and a width of 3.65 mtrs has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 10.44 crores by Indian Army in a record time of 117 days, which connects Parel station on the East side and PhoolwaliGali outside the Elphinstone Road station on the west side. This new FOB has been provided to facilitate smooth flow of passengers and to decongest both Elphinstone Road and Parel stations, especially during peak hours. The FOB has been built on war footing by the Ministry of Defence, in the aftermath of the unfortunate incident of stampede occurred at Elphinstone road station on 29th September, 2017.
Major Benefits:
- This new FOB will help in smooth flow & de-congestion of commuters crowd during peak hours at both Elphinstone Road and Parel stations.
- This will prove to be very much convenient for flower & fish vendors of nearby markets.
- This new FOB will be a boon for daily commuters which will not only provide an additional mode for changing the platforms from East to West side and vice versa.
- Appx 1.6 Lakh passengers who are commuting daily at these two stations will be highly benefited.
