Mumbai: How crowding at Bandra and Kurla stations can be fixed

The two key railway stations in Mumbai that see a very high footfall and pedestrian movement on the outside Kurla and Bandra continue to remain neglected and the best possible solution in the given scenario would be to introduce a Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme SATIS at these spots to segregate and streamline traffic and peopleThe SATIS at Thane railway stationExperts and stakeholders with whom midday spoke cited Thane as an example of a station where SATIS which includes elevated decks for buses has made a difference Though chaos has not entirely abated at the station crowds are segregated in an organised manner Public buses are available on the first floor of the station which has a long skywalk for pedestrians The ground floor is solely for autos taxis and private vehiclesAlso Read Railway Minister flags off Indiarsquos first allaluminium freight rail wagonsTraffic outside the station at Bandra EastA SATIS basically facilitates the mass dispersal of passengers outside the station Stations tend to get crowded with the arrival of trains and hence this comprehensive plan was mooted to decongest them It includes the development of infrastructure around the stationBandra EastIt was after midday carried out a comprehensive railway station audit in 2018 that Bandra station got a streamlined plan and more foot overbridges and space for commuters on platforms While auto lanes and bus lanes foster a sense of orderliness at Bandra West disorder is witnessed in the east where maximum pedestrian movement occurs Things have been even more chaotic ever since the skywalk was razedThe area outside Bandra East stationAn exponential rise in the stationrsquos commuter numbers has been seen ever since the business hub of BandraKurla Complex BKC came up and the civic bodyrsquos efforts to set up more infrastructure came to nought making a stampedelike situation during peak hours an everyday affair It is not just the BKC crowd but also those on their way to the Bandra Terminus who get down at Bandra East and are tricked by the illegal auto mafialdquoBandra East is the one place where a SATIS is required The area is in a shambles and one cannot get to the highway on foot as the footpaths have been encroached upon and autos crowd the road Near the Bandra court twowheelers are parked on the footpath Our bus leaves us near the depot and the station is two minutes away from there but this walk is a frustrating onerdquo a commuter Shwetha Nagrajan saidOnce a commuter ends up at Bandra East they seegtgt Rowdy auto drivers trying to lure commutersgtgt Bus lanes and stops blocked by autosgtgt BEST buses not stopping at bus stopsgtgt BEST bus stops in a shamblesgtgt No police officers monitoring the situationgtgt A razed skywalkgtgt Unnavigable footpathsgtgt Bikes and twowheelers parked on footpathsWhat can be doneAn elevated deck outside Bandra East station segregates BEST and other public transport buses while keeping auto and other private vehicle traffic on the lower deck Pedestrians can get their skywalk back and can set out from the station and land at the highway junction near Bandra court The work on this bit is underway Kurla WestKurla is another station where the municipal body needs to implement a SATIS as extreme crowding is seen in both the east and west The situation is comparatively worse in the west from where commuters walk towards LBS Road and the BKC junction Bus stops are also blocked by automen The open area near Kurla subway has a taxi and auto stand but has been taken over by hawkers and is no longer in use The narrow alleys outside the Kurla West station are also dangerous as fire engines are unable to reach the spot quicklyThe area outside Kurla West stationldquoThousands of officegoers take the shortcut through New Mill Road to reach the arterial LBS Road A skywalk can be built from the station to the LBS Road near Belgrami Road junction One can even come up in the stretch between the BKC MTNL office and SG Barve Marg local leaders havenrsquot shown any initiative in this regardrdquo Saraswati Borkar a longtime Kurla resident saidJitendra GuptaJitendra Gupta a resident of Kurla West and a founder member of the Citizen Transport Committee said ldquoWhy canrsquot the BEST operate buses through New Mill Road at Kurla One can see a sixwheel 10ton truck during peak hours but no BEST bus as the authorities have not yet taken a call on running minibuses which would drastically reduce auto rickshaw congestionrdquoldquoAt Kurla SATIS alone may not be the solution The municipalityrsquos markets are also awaiting redevelopment which would result in the accommodation of hawkers and give some hope of roads becoming encroachment free Corruption has stalled the redevelopment of these marketsrdquo Gupta addedOnce a commuter ends up at Kurla West they seegtgt Rowdy auto drivers trying to lure commutersgtgt Hawkers blocking access ways from all sidesgtgt No pathways for walkersgtgt The new eastwest bridge being constructedgtgt An unwalkable eastwest subwaygtgt Bus lanes and stops blocked by autosgtgt No police officers monitoring the situationWhat can be doneWhile the east has enough open space for a proper elevated deck and also has a long skywalk connecting the level crossing gate on the way to the terminus the new elevated harbour line station must be completed quickly An elevated deck in the west at the bus station junction which would take commuters directly to the SantacruzndashChembur Link Road would ease traffic congestionStatistics and featuresAccording to a survey conducted by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation and the professional services consulting firm Wilbur Smith Associates Bandra station on an average sees 491106 passengers entering and exiting at any time the thirdhighest on WR after Churchgate and Andheri From Bandra station one can board trains to both Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Churchgate and also reach Bandra TerminusKurla station on an average sees 380930 passengers and witnesses high boarding and alighting during the morning and evening peak hours From the station one can catch trains for both mainline and harbour line It is a key junction for Navi Mumbai and commuters can also connect with Kurla Lokmanya Tilak TerminusPushing for SATIS Local MLAKurla MLA Mangesh Kudalkar told midday he has been also trying to get a SATIS set up at the station ldquoIt will not only help segregate traffic but also be a boon for all commuters railway and otherwise The matter is being discussed at higher levelsrdquo he saidThane a success storyThane city which has taken the lead in public transport connectivity is constructing a 24km road only for public transport buses including those by various municipal transport undertakings that use the route directly from the eastern express highway to Thane station in the east as a part of the SATIS project A similar SATIS project had been implemented in the west of the station earlier but this one will be an upgraded version It will not just segregate public transport buses autotaxis and pedestrians but also have many improvements like a higher upper deckOfficial speakldquoWe will see what we can do about thisrdquo Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu saidExpert speakJagdeep Desai architect and transport expertHe said simple organisation segregation and strict lane management at the grade ground level is required instead of infrastructural intervention ldquoLook at what happened with Andheri auto sky deck It is now being used by pedestrians I wish officials would apply their minds Rather than investing huge amounts in infra at two stations without any guarantee that this will yield results what is needed a serious crash study of roads at all stationsrdquoA V Shenoy senior transport expert with Mumbai Mobility Forum amp Mumbai Vikas SamitiHe has proposed that instead of creating a space for autos taxis and private vehicles on the ground floor as is the case in Thane they should be kept on the first level should SATIS come up in Bandra or Kurla ldquoWe need to keep in mind that pedestrians include senior citizens pregnant women differently abled people They should not be made to go up and downrdquo he said491106Avg number of passengers entering and exiting Bandra station at any given timeInputs from Sameer Surve