Block on December 19 to dismantle FOB

Despite a hue and cry by commuters over the block-burst on Harbour line on October 26 which caused huge inconvenience, another block will be observed on December 19 by Central Railway (CR), as officials start the task of dismantling the Kasaiwada foot overbridge at Kurla. The trains on the harbour line will be shut from 11.30 pm on December 19 till 8 am on December 20. Also on the CR, the trains will be shut from 11.30 pm on December 19 till 4.15 am on December 20.

The work on Kasaiwada foot overbridge was long overdue and needed a makeover. It is located at Kurla, under which all six lines of the CR pass.

The bridge will be completely dismantled and a new bridge will be constructed with increased height and breadth.

The new bridge will ensure unhindered passage of goods trains till CST as well passage of as double-decker trains, should they be introduced in the future.

According to an officer, the new bridge will be constructed in the coming few months. “Currently the height of this bridge is 4.82 metres from the track and the new bridge will have a height of 5.9 metres. Similarly, the breadth of the new bridge will be 4 metres from the current 2.44 metres,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

As a result of the block burst, the last train from CST to Kasara will leave at 11.30 pm on December 19 (Saturday).

The last train to Panvel from CST will also leave at 11.30 pm. While services will be started on the mainline as usual on December 20 (Sunday) commuters on Harbour will be the worse hit with the first train leaving Panvel as late as 8.00 am.

The block burst on October 26 at Harbour was a result of work undertaken by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) between Chunnabhatti and Masjid stations for six-hours instead of the usual four-hours. However, the block ended up lasting up to eight-and-a-half hours.