A day after the Central Railway announced a 63-hour mega block starting at midnight on May 30 for platform extension works on the Mumbai network, Shiv Sena spokesperson Advocate Susieben Shah on Thursday appealed to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to either declare holidays or allow work from home for government, semi-government, and private offices to prevent any untoward incidents.
As many as 930 local trains will be cancelled, short-termination of 444 services, and short-originating of 446 services between May 31 and June 2 due to Central Railway`s mega block.
“Millions of commuters travel on Central Railway on a daily basis. As a result, there will be commotion across the railway network. To avoid any untoward incident during these days, I appeal to the Government of Maharashtra to issue a notification to allow work from home or give holidays to all private as well as public offices. I also appeal to you to urge the citizens travelling from and to the areas affected to be safe and travel only if necessary,” Shah stated in the letter to Eknath Shinde.
Starting Friday, there will be a mega block at two major stations—CSMT and Thane. Due to the disruptions, there is a likelihood of massive crowds during rush hours. “Mumbaikars will get huge relief if they are allowed to work from home on Friday and Saturday. This will ensure public safety and facilitate infrastructural development simultaneously,” she said.
The Central Railway`s mega block will be operated for platform extension and widening works at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and the Thane station.
“A 63-hour mega block for the widening of platform nos 5 and 6 (in Thane) will start from Thursday midnight while a 36-hour block for the works related to the extension of platform nos 10 and 11 (at CSMT) will kick in from Friday midnight,” Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of Central Railway`s Mumbai division, told a press conference on Wednesday.
He said once the platform breadth is widened, facilities like escalators or wider staircases for Foot Over Bridge (FOB) can be provided.
Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railways, said a total of 72 mail-express trains and 956 suburban trains on the main and Harbour corridors will remain cancelled from Friday to Sunday.
Several mail-express and suburban trains will be short-terminated and short-originated from Wadala, Dadar, Thane, Pune, Panvel and Nashik stations.
“There will be unavoidable cancellation of suburban trains. Hence, we request all the establishments to allow your staff to work from home or any other means possible to reduce the number of passengers on these days,” Nila said.
