‘Limit travel’, Central Railway urges Mumbaikars amid 63-hour mega block

Infrastructure upgrade alert: The Central Railway has urged Mumbaikars to “limit travel” as it will operate a 63-hour mega block from May 30 at midnight for platform extension works on the Mumbai network. This will likely affect the services of local trains and the work schedule of lakhs of commuters.

The mega block will be operated for platform extension and widening works at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and the Thane station.

The block for the works will end at 3.30 pm on Sunday, as per a Central Railway statement.

“We strive to minimize cancellations and request passengers to limit travel, emphasizing the necessity of travelling only when it is truly unavoidable,” the Central Railway said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Here are 10 key points to know about the mega block:

• Services of local and long-distance trains are expected to be affected during the block period. Therefore, the railways have appealed to commuters to avoid travelling by local trains, if not necessary.
• “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,” said Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of the Central Railway’s Mumbai division. He said once the platform breadth is widened, facilities like escalators or wider staircases for Foot Over Bridge (FOB) can be provided.
• Swapnil Nila, Central Railway chief public relations officer, 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.
• He said the railways has requested the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to operate extra buses for the convenience of passengers.

• At CSMT, the length of platform nos 10 and 11 has been extended to accommodate 24-coach trains from the earlier 16 coaches. While the extension-related work is already completed, the mega block will be operated mainly for carrying out non-interlocking (related to track changing points) works.
• “These blocks are essential for infrastructure upgradation and long-term benefits. Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway administration for the inconvenience caused,” the Central Railway said.
• “Usually, it takes six months for the construction of a platform and, if done very fast, at least three months. That is not possible in Thane’s case and hence we are using hollow pre-cast blocks,” an official said.

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• In a release issued late Thursday evening, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport said it plans to run 254 extra services on nine routes with 43 extra buses during the mega-block period.

(With PTI inputs)