08 September,2024 07:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The work was completed by 10 am on Sunday; (right) commuters at Malad station after the Platform shift. Pics/Satej Shinde
From Sunday morning, the direction of the platform for Churchgate-bound passengers has changed with the railways shifting one more line successfully to make way for the sixth line. Passengers going to board Churchgate slow local trains will now have Malad station on their left, instead of the right. Western Railway has commenced the work of laying the 6th line between Goregaon and Kandivli stations and mega blocks are being carried out to undertake work to cut and connect the existing lines.
"The platform nomenclature at Malad station has been updated to accommodate the new infrastructure changes. Platform no. 1 has been relocated to the right side for trains arriving from Churchgate and platform no. 2 has trains leaving for Churchgate. This change will now allow passengers to board trains in either direction from the same platform, improving convenience and efficiency," a spokesperson said.
The photogallery here
Work started at midnight on Saturday and was completed by 10 am on Sunday with the first âUP' local EMU train (90332) arriving at Malad at 10.30 am after the block work, and leaving at 10.31 am. The next block will now be enforced on September 22, skipping a week for the Ganpati festivities.
The railways are building a 5th and 6th line between Bandra Terminus and Borivli. This will be the mail/express train national corridor, segregated from the Mumbai suburban corridor. At present, the 5th line, which is being used as a bidirectional line, is in place. The 6th line is currently being built. As of Sunday, work on the 6th line has been completed on a 9-km stretch from Bandra Terminus to Goregaon. Now the second important phase of the 6th line, from Goregaon to Kandivli is done. The new 4.5 km line is ready and now needs to be cut and connected to the existing network.