Stampede-like scenes at Santacruz railway station, commuters jittery

A crowded foot overbridge after two others are shut for repairs, at Santacruz station. Pic/Sameer Markande

The scenes from Santacruz railway station on Wednesday looked eerily similar to the overcrowded foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station, where a stampede in 2017 claimed over 20 lives. Speaking with mid-day, commuters said the debris and closure of two bridges on platforms 3 and 4 created a disastrous situation during the morning rush. The railways opened one bridge after the complaints.

The railways shut an entire foot overbridge, an old one, and blocked a staircase of another for repairs and work related to construction of an escalator, leaving little space for people to walk on the island platform.

Commuters walk next to the dug up portion of platforms 3, 4. Pic/Rajendra B. Aklekar

"The condition of the bridge at Santacruz station was very bad in the morning due to crowding, because an entire bridge and one side of the central footbridge on platforms 3 and 4 have been closed. We request the railways to take necessary action and resolve the issue as soon as possible," said Sunil Thakur, a commuter.

"There was a stampede-like situation on the central bridge. An accident is waiting to happen," said another commuter Shatrugana Kalavar.

The south-end staircase of a bridge is blocked on Wednesday

"Out of the three bridges, the railways shut one fully and another partially. How are huge crowds gathering every minute supposed to move? I appeal to the railways to work on this fast before there is a stampede," said another commuter not willing to be named.

During the visit to the site, mid-day found the south-end staircase of a bridge on the heavily used platforms 3 and 4 blocked for work. A lot of debris and pits were there on the island platform--with tracks on both sides. This was leading to pressure on the old bridge linked to the skywalk at the Churchgate-end. A new bridge linking the skywalk is also under construction.

The dug-up middle portion of platforms 3 and 4

It's a key station

"Western Railway should be very careful while carrying out works at Santacruz railway station. They cannot afford to do such things [congest the platform], as Santacruz is the key station for Mumbai suburban railway with airport connectivity and is in regular use with many passengers dragging their bags along the platforms. The station also has a big crowd of students and the south-end is the important part of the station. The crowd and chaos reminds one of Elphinstone stampede," said Shailesh Goyal, former member of National Railway Users' Consultative Council (NRUCC).

Official speak

"The new east-west BMC foot overbridge at Churchgate-end of Santacruz station is under construction. The old foot overbridge has been permanently closed and the new one will be commissioned on March 26," Western Railway chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur said.

"Following commuter complaints in the morning, we have opened the old bridge so that there is minimal inconvenience. A team of senior engineering officials from all departments visited the station and took a review of the station, suggesting immediate measures. The Railway Police Force has been deployed to monitor and streamline crowd movement. We are continuously monitoring the situation," he added.

Closed bridges on Central Railway, too

Commuters at Thane station, who use the foot overbridge on the Kalyan-end to access the east side of the station, have appealed to the railways to remove barricades placed on the bridge during the COVID-19 lockdown. The landing of the bridge on platform number 2 has been barricaded, though a few people manage to jump over and still use it. A foot overbridge at Shelu station has also been abruptly shut for new tiling work leaving, people with no option, said commuter Sunil Shinde. The railways said they will finish all the works before monsoon, so that there are no issues, and alternatives are available.