Mumbai: Escalator opened at Ghatkopar station

Metro users will also be able to use the escalator. File pic

Crowding at the entry-exit point of Ghatkopar railway station has eased after Central Railway on Saturday opened the escalator from the 12-metre-wide main footbridge for Mumbai Metro commuters. mid-day had highlighted in its December 26 edition how few entry and exit gates at Ghatkopar, a junction of Mumbai Metro and Central Railway, was leading to crushing crowds, and traffic jams outside the station on the west side.

Sources said the RPF agreed to open up an extra entry from the escalator side to Platform Nos. 2, 3 and 4 and they have deployed personnel to check passes and tickets of those entering the premises.

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation has a plan to upgrade the station, but it has been delayed for want of clarity on the timelines. File pic

Metro users with valid passes or tickets can use the escalator to reach platforms 2,3 and 4. Earlier, Central Railway allowed entry from a single point and the same entry was used by railway passengers of platform 1 for exit. Local Member of Parliament Manoj Kotak had also raised the issue with Metro authorities and the Central Railway's headquarters and divisional railway manager's office after his office received complaints from commuters.

"We are happy that a solution was found immediately as the issue was raised and discussed in the media and by the local elected representatives," Daksha Shah, a medical professional and a resident of Ghatkopar said.

Central Railway on Saturday opened the escalator from the 12-metre-wide main foot overbridge at Ghatkopar station for Metro commuters

There is also a plan to upgrade Ghatkopar station by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, but it has also been delayed for want of clarity on the timelines. Kotak, who met MRVC officials in early December, said he was told that physical work on the station upgrade project would resume in a month's time.

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Extra entry that RPF has agreed to open from the escalator side