Nearly two months after Elphinstone stampede, Indian Army begins work on three foot-over bridges in Mumbai

Mumbai: Engineers from the Indian Army have started work on three foot-over bridges (FOBs) at suburban stations in Mumbai after the railways gave necessary approvals, a senior official said on Friday.

The Army engineers have begun piling and foundation work for FOBs at Elphinstone Road on the Western Railway, and Currey Road and Ambivli on the Central Railway after obtaining necessary approvals from the transport PSU, said the railway official.

The official said the permission from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for the FOB at Elphinstone Road was expected “any moment”.

He said the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) of the Elphinstone Road FOB was submitted by the Army engineers on Thursday.

The railways and Army have jointly set 31 January, 2018 as the deadline to construct the three FOBs, including the one at Elphinstone Road, where 23 people were killed in a stampede on 29 September.

The under-construction bridge at Elphinstone is an extension of the current north-end FOB at Parel station and will land at the west side of the Elphinstone Road station. It is estimated to cost Rs 11 crore, officials said.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had visited the Elphinstone Road station a few weeks ago and announced the 31 January deadline for completing the three FOBs.