The Western and Central Railways has managed to dismantle 15 old Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) during the lockdown.
If not for the coronavirus-induced lockdown, dismantling one FOB would require for the train services to be blocked at least twice for four to five hours each. According to Mumbai Mirror, back in 2018, after the collapse of the pedestrian pathway of Gokhale Bridge, Piyush Goyal had ordered an inspection on all the bridges on the suburban section of Mumbai. This audit was further conducted by IIT-Bombay along with officials from CR, WR and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Earlier, the Central Railways had also increased its suburban services from 453 to 700. It used to operate 453 special suburban services for staff as notified by Government of Maharashtra. In order to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding, Central Railway took the decision to increase the number of daily special suburban services from 453 to 481 from 15th October 2020. The services were gradually increased earlier. On September 28, WR added six services including two “ladies special” services. The CR added 22 services on October 10.
As of now, the suburban railways are being used by employees engaged in essential services, however, since the last few months, the number of commuters has increased, especially during the peak hours, as the officials have received several complaints regarding the same.
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