Barricading platform causes chaos at Badlapur station

MUMBAI: A day after the Central Railway (CR) barricaded platform 1 at Badlapur station, trouble started brewing on Monday. What was meant to ease congestion at this station led to confusion and crowding on Platform 2.

Commuters, who until now could board and alight from either side of platform 1 and 1A, found barricades installed on one side. Those headed for CSMT were especially inconvenienced. Shweta Roy, who regularly boards the 9am train, said, “When the train arrived, most of it extended beyond the home platform, causing chaos. Women were pushed, and those trying to alight had no space.”

Angry commuters said railway officials should have been present at the site, to witness the consequences of their decision. “The earlier arrangement ensured that the crowd inside Karjat-bound trains could comfortably travel until Badlapur. With the island platform closed, it has deprived passengers of an amenity.

Areas in the north of Kalyan are growing and the number of commuters is swelling. From the passengers’ point of view, installing barricades is problematic,” said Prafulla Shewale, who heads the Kalyan- Kasara-Karjat Railway Passengers’ Association.

Railway officials and the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) defended this step, saying it was required for the expansion of Badlapur station. “There was no problem at Badlapur station due to the barricading of the platform. This was a necessary step for the future development of this station,” said an official from MRVC.

Likewise, a CR official said that when the home platform was constructed a few months ago, the public had been informed. “It was necessary for want of space, to construct an FOB and escalator landings. In the long run, it will ease crowding at Badlapur,” said a CR official.

On Saturday night, CR authorities carried out a six-hour block, when they installed a metal fence to separate the platforms. The fencing was done on platforms 1-1A with tracks in between. Until now, commuters were boarding and alighting trains heading for Karjat on this island platform.