41-km rly wall to curb trespassing
MUMBAI: To control trespassing on its suburban railway tracks, the Central Railway (CR) has begun constructing a 41-km boundary wall, along its tracks.
The Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and railway officials have identified 139 locations that witness maximum number of trespassing inci- dents daily, along which the 2.7-metre-tall wall is being built.
The locations include railway tracks between Dadar-matunga, Kurla-vidyavihar, ThaneKalwa, Wadala-gtb Nagar, GTBChunabhatti, sections between Kalyan and Badlapur, Govandi station, Kurla-tilak Nagar section, Bhandup-nahur, and DivaKopar stations.
“The b o u n d a r y wal l is expected to be completed by March 31. A 41-km wall will be constructed, of which, 7-kms has been completed. The work is on-going,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relation officer, CR.
Officials said the cost of the project is approximately ₹35 crore. The decision to construct a wall was taken after union railway minister Piyush Goyal, in a meeting with railway officials and senior officers of GRP on December 13, 2018, directed offi- cials to control trespassing on the suburban railway tracks.
The railways also identified fatality spots on its tracks. Apart from the Thane and Kalwa sections, railway officials said there has been a substantial increase in the number of fatalities between Kalyan and Badlapur stations.
Passenger associations have welcomed the move, but asked the railways to use good quality raw materials.