Title - Western Railway wants to raise height of 30 platforms

Most people travelling by local trains in the city quickly learn how to judge the distance and navigate the gap between a railway platform and the train footboard. But with the excess space proving to be fatal for many, the Western Railway (WR) has decided to raise the height of platforms on its suburban section. The WR has identified 30 most critical platforms and has proposed to raise their height from 84cm to 95cm by June 2013. This will help commuters board and alight from trains safely.During a recent survey of 132 platforms on the WR, the railways found large gaps between platforms and trains, along with slippery edges.The WR has sent a proposal to the Railway Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) asking them to increase the standard platform height from 84cm.“The platform height will be raised in phases. In the first phase, we will fix the gaps at 30 platforms,” said Sandeep Silas, divisional railway manager, Mumbai division, WR.

Silas said they had measured the gap between the platform and train footboard at different spots. “We found that the gap is not uniform on any platform,” he said.

Railway officials said the widest gaps were found at Dadar station’s platform number 4 and 5 (45cm), Marine Lines platform number 2 (19cm) and Elphinstone Road’s platform number 2 (19cm).

“We are keeping our technical study ready. Once we get the permission, we will float the tenders and start work,” said a senior railway official.

Commuters feel that the railway’s initiative has come too late. “Work should have started several years ago. Every day we commuters face the danger of falling in the gap and getting crushed to death,” said Shailendra Kamble, convener, Pravas Adhikar Andolan Samiti, adding that the railways should take up the matter on a war footing.