Mumbai: Commuters will be left dazed and confused, as Western Railway (WR) will undertake the renumbering of Virar railway station’s platforms by the end of this month. WR had carried out similar exercises at its Vile Parle, Andheri, Santa Cruz and Borivali stations.
Officials said there has been a lack of uniformity in the way the Virar station platforms were numbered. After the renumbering, Platform No.1 will be in the west while the last platform will be in the east.
Dhara Kanani, one of the thousands of commuters who travel from Andheri to Churchgate every day, recalled that after the platforms of the former station were re-numbered on February 5, she had been in a state of confusion for almost a month. “The renumbering was so tough because you would go to the platform only to realise later that it had been renumbered.” She added that since the renumbering, services have been seeing a delay of 10 to 15 minutes. “The trains are almost always delayed and the Harbour line services towards CST are even worse,”she said.
Officials said the delay in services is probably due to a speed restriction, which might have been imposed in some sections, as motormen have to get used to changes in entry and exit lines.
An official said, “In the long run, the renumbering of the platform is actually a good exercise as it will standardise things for us, saving us a few minutes here and there, which will cumulatively be a boon for our punctuality.”
The platforms of the Borivali, Santa Cruz and Vile Parle stations were renumbered on June 3, March 5 and March 12 respectively, while renumbering took place at Bandra station last July.
Need of Numbers
- Numbering of platforms lack uniformity across WR stations.
- After the process of renumbering, Virar will have platform No. 1 in west.
- The last platform on the Virar station will be on the east side of the station.
