Common platform at Malad spurs chaos, endangers kids, elderly commuters

Mumbai: The operationalisation of a common platform in Malad for Churchgate- and Borivali-bound slow trains has led to a nightmarish situation for commuters. There is immense overcrowding on the platform, especially when both north- and south-bound locals arrive at the same time. The sudden rush makes it difficult for commuters to access foot overbridge and staircases, leaving children, the elderly and specially abled passengers vulnerable to mishaps.
Till about a week ago, platform number 1, which catered to Borivali-bound trains, was directly accessible from the main road. Commuters would enter/ exit locals from the left or western side and use the foot over bridge only when they wanted to access Churchgate-bound slow trains from platform number 2 or Borivali-bound fast trains from platform number 3, or cross over to the eastern side.
When platforms 1 and 2 were turned into a common platform, the road on the western side of the station was no longer directly accessible. Borivali-bound commuters now had to enter/ exit locals from the right and all passengers had to use foot overbridges, whether to access other trains or leave the station premises.
These changes and the arrival of Churchgate-bound locals on platform 2 at around the same time are leading to massive crowding and chaotic scenes, said commuters.
“Alighting from the train at Malad during the evening peak hours has become very difficult, even from Borivali-bound trains. I prefer getting off at Kandivali now and taking a Churchgate-bound train to come back to Malad,” said N Gupta, a resident of Malad West.
The common platform has at least four foot over bridges, but these are narrow and all of them do not connect to the eastern side of Malad station. For instance, at the southern end of the shared platform, commuters need to use the overbridge and walk ahead for almost another 100 metres to proceed to the eastern side. The northern end has another FOB which connects directly with the eastern side – this FOB is overcrowded most of the time.
Western Railway officials who are monitoring the situation said inter-connected pathways have been created between the FOBs, which are not being utilised. “Everyone wants to use the FOBs to go to the east and west. We are working on some solutions to ease the situation,” said a WR official. Sources in WR also ruled out any possibility of increasing the width of the common platform as there is no space.
At present, police personnel are stationed on the platform to manage the daily rush. They are equipped with mega phones and are seen making constant announcements and maneuvering the crowd.
Western Railway is currently implementing a 35-day block on the Goregaon-Kandivali stretch for constructing the sixth railway line, which will help segregate long-distance trains and suburban locals. 10-hour blocks are being implemented from midnight on Saturdays every week, barring during the Ganpati festival.