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« Back Sanjay Nirupam during the course of his visit to Borivili Station 27 Nov, 2009 MUMBAI: Come March, and commuters will have a world-class Borivli railway station, said railway officials who have undertaken an 82-day block at platform 6. The closure of the platform has mostly affected long-distance passengers.
Member of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam, accompanied by Western Railway general manager R N Verma, visited the railway station on Friday to take stock of the situation. Railway officials assured Nirupam that the work on platforms 6 and 6A would be completed by the deadline--February 15, 2010.
The new station building and yard will also be ready by March, said chief administrative officer (construction), Subodh Kumar Jain. Nirupam added that Borivli station would become one of the over 350 stations that were on their way to getting a world-class makeover.
The block, which began on Thursday has not affected daily commuters much, though a few hitches were noticed. The extension of 6.14 pm Churchgate-Borivli fast train up to Bhayander has led to some discomfort among commuters. "We don't understand the point in extending this train up to Bhayander. We can't board it anymore,'' said Manisha Shirke, a Borivli resident. "The 6.25 pm Churchgate-Borivli fast gets too packed to even find a seat,'' added Shirke.
Women passengers, especially those traveling to Vaitarna, Saphale and Kelve Road complained about the termination of the Borivli-Dahanu shuttle at Vasai Road.
Long-distance passengers now have to get off at Vasai Road or Andheri, instead of Borivli. Passengers of 2972 Bhavnagar-Bandra Terminus Express complained that it was difficult to alight at Vasai Road during peak hours and then board another local to get to their destination. "At 10.15 am, getting off at Vasai was impossible. I had to travel all the way to Andheri and then back to Mira Road,'' said Mohan Mehta.
Commuters on Vapi Passenger and Bandra Terminus Jaipur Express complained that WR should have given adequate notice about the block so that they could have taken the trains that still halt at Borivli. Eight trains, otherwise halting at Borivli, have been given halts at Andheri and Vasai Road.
The railway administration had anticipated commuters pulling the chain in these trains. However, no such incidents have been reported, said railway police officials.