Mumbai: BMC funds Central Railways to build 10 new foot-over bridges for east-west link

Mumbai: Ten foot-over bridges (FOBs) will be built by the Central Railway (CR) in Mumbai using funds from the BMC to provide pedestrians an east-west connection.

The development of these bridges has been a priority for CR since 2019, but once the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray took office, project decision-making delayed. Lockdown brought on by Covid further prolonged the wait.

Now that the state has changed hands, a decision was made in the very first meeting between the CR and the civic council to immediately begin rebuilding these vital bridges. On the Main line, between CSMT and Mulund, and on the Harbour line, between CSMT and Mankhurd, these FOBs will be constructed.

"In the meeting, we stressed the urgent need to build these bridges to prevent trespassing. BMC, too, has assured that funds for the projects will be handed over to the Railways before the actual work of the bridges begins," said a CR official.

Old FOBs will be demolished (in a few areas) and new FOBs will be built in 18 months, according to a top CR official. The estimated cost of building all 10 FOBs is Rs 116.3 crore, of which Rs 28 crore has already been paid by the BMC in April 2020. We have received assurances from BMC that the remaining cash would be distributed as quickly as feasible. "Tenders will be requested for the rebuilding of these bridges in the next 15 days," a CR official stated.

The reconstruction of FOBs will be done at Bhandup and Kanjurmarg, while new FOBs will be built between CSMT and Masjid, north of Masjid station, close to Matunga workshop, between GTB Nagar and Wadala, south of Mulund station, between Matunga and Sion, close to Apna Bazaar in Nahur, and near Kanjurmarg.