Title - Escalators at Thane station in a month,

Commuters at Thane railway station will be able to use escalators by early next month, Central Railway officials said on Sunday. Two years ago, the CR officials had announced the plan to set up escalators at major stations in the city including Dadar, Kalyan anad Thane.

In 2012, the Railway Board in New Delhi gave out contracts for setting up 100 escalators at several A-level railway stations across the country and the work had to be completed by July this year. However, the plan dropped in the CR’s priority list. With no escalators in sight, a zonal railway users’ consulting committee recently pulled up the CR for the delay.

As a result, they have decided to set up escalators at Thane station foot overbridge (FOB) by month end. The two escalators will link platforms number 3-4 and 5-6 with the newly constructed metrewide FOB. If successful, escalators will also come up in Dadar, Vikhroli, Dombivli and Kalyan stations, as well as at Kurla terminus.

“Keeping in mind the fund constraints, only two ‘climb-up’ escalators are being installed on one side of the FOB,” said a senior railway official. He added that the Central Railway has already received the escalators and they only need to assemble them.