New skywalk connected to the station is a big relief to the passengers of Mumbai's Bandra East (Photo Source- JNN)
Rajendra Aklekar, Mumbai. There is news of relief for the passengers commuting daily at Bandra Railway Station. Western Railway has opened a direct route from the foot over bridge (FOB) of the station to the newly constructed Bandra East Skywalk. The skywalk is yet to be inaugurated, but with its completion, the journey of passengers is going to become much easier in the coming days.
Western Railway has created direct access to the new skywalk through a 12 meter wide foot over bridge at the Churchgate End. With this, passengers will get direct access to Bandra East from Bandra station. Railway officials said that this route has been opened, but at present barricades have been installed. The skywalk will be fully opened once it is officially inaugurated by BMC.
The special thing about this skywalk is that, unlike the experience of Bellasis Road Bridge, the railway connectivity here has been prepared even before the opening of the skywalk.
Skywalk is almost complete
The deadline for this skywalk being built by BMC was fixed as 31st December. According to officials, most of the work has been completed and only a few finishing touches are left. The new skywalk is an average of 6 meters wide. For the convenience of passengers, escalators have been made at two places and stairs have been made at three places.
However, a major challenge before the BMC will be to keep the skywalk free from hawkers. The previously constructed skywalk was encroached upon by hawkers, causing inconvenience to the passengers.
Why is traveling difficult in Bandra East?
The road from Bandra Court to the railway station is always filled with heavy traffic. Complaints about the poor condition of this road have also been made for a long time. Especially near Kala Nagar Junction, there is a daily traffic jam due to the rush of vehicles and pedestrians. Passengers have to get on the road and pass through traffic, which takes more time and is also dangerous.
The new skywalk passes over the entire Station Road, crosses the highway and lands directly at Kala Nagar Junction. This will give passengers direct access to offices and areas across the highway without getting on the road. Especially during the morning and evening rush hours, this skywalk will provide great relief from traffic and crowd.
History of Old Skywalks
Bandra's Old Skywalk was the city's first skywalk, built by MMRDA in 2008. It was discontinued in 2019 and has been deprecated since 2021. After this BMC planned to build a new skywalk. Initially its width was fixed at 4 meters and length was 450 meters, but on the demand of local residents and workers, it was increased to 680 meters so that it could reach MHADA.
Regarding this skywalk, college student Farzana Shaikh said, "The traffic of Kala Nagar is very troublesome. After the opening of the skywalk, there will be a way to escape from the road. We all are waiting for it." Meanwhile, Suresh Iyer, a bank employee, said, "Bandra station is always crowded. Connecting the skywalk directly to the FOB will reduce the pressure. Western Railways should also connect other bridges to it." Delivery executive Prakash More said, "This facility should have been available long ago. I pass through this route twice daily. Now there will be relief from traffic, honking and waiting."
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