Central Railway’s committee on accidental deaths has suggested, in its report, a plan in which the fast line would be underground. This would be done on the mainline between Sandhurst Road and CST with the final station being Azad Maidan (where a new station would be constructed) instead of CST and would help to reduce crowds in trains.
The committee was formed after the death of 21-year-old Bhavesh Nakate in November 2015 when he fell off an overcrowded train bound for CST.
The committee members included CR general manager Sunil Kumar Sood, and the report submitted under his guidance has said that the underground line will go under the historic Azad Maidan. The plan is to only shift the mainline’s fast track underground from Sandhurst Road and this separation of lines would result in more platforms at CST for the slow services and the independent operations of the fast lines from Azad Maidan station. “If we do this and shift the fast track at Azad Maidan, it wouldn’t get in the way of the slow services. Logistically, at the same time we will get two extra platforms at CST on which we can run more slow services,” said Mr Sood.
The CR was criticised for not doing enough for commuters’ safety when the video of Nakate falling off the train went viral in November 2015. The proposal is to merge the Metro III project of Colaba-Bandra- SEEPZ, to be built at 20 feet underground at Azad Maidan too. “We have proposed that we will be at 30 feet below so you will have to catch an escalator from our platform to go to the Metro. If thought about and looked into, this will provide huge relief to commuters,” Mr Sood added.
The report has also stated that the CR has been growing at a capacity of four per cent from 40 lakh commuters everyday since 2009.The report is still being looked into and no response has been still received from any of the three authorities — the state, railway board and Bombay high court — it has been sent to.
