Train services in Mumbai will remain suspended for 20 days from November 27, according to an announcement made by Western Railways (WR) to facilitate the launching of a girder for the Gokhale bridge under construction. The bridge will connect SV Road and Western Express Highway at Andheri.
A strategic block has been planned in the first week of December 2023 for the launch of girders on Gokhle Bridge which connects SV Road and Western Express Highway in Andheri. The block has been scheduled for a brief three-hour window during the night to avoid any interference in the regular daytime train services. The block has been planned for the first week of December.
“The block for launching girders for Gokhle brige will be taken in the first week of Dec only for 3 hours in night during planned block period so there will be no impact on regular train services during the day," the Western Railway spokesperson said.
According to the report, the affected train details are yet to be released by the Western Railway.
To minimize the impact on train service, blocks will be carried out during the night, TOI quoted Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Western Railway, Sumit Thakur as saying.
“We will undertake the blocks during the night so that it has minimal impact on the train services," Thakur said.
As per details, the under-constructing Gokhale Bridge’s girder will be 90 meters, which will be the second-largest railway bridge in the metropolitan city. Each girder of the bridge has been assembled at the worksite.
The report added that the girder will be launched at a height of 25 meters from the ground level and will be lifted by a special crane as the girder weighs around 1,300 tonnes.
Built in 1975 Gokhale Bridge is 80 metres long and 25 metres wide and is getting a new road overbridge at the estimated cost of around ₹90 crore.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to open the bridge partially in February 2024, though the initial deadline for the bridge was November 2023.
The demolition of the bridge began by Western Railway in December 2022 and took four months to complete the work, with its final girder taken down in March this year.
The authorities shut down the bridge in November 2022, after an inspection which found that there were various elements in the bridge such as RCC columns, tie beams, girders, deck slab, and bearings that are heavily distressed because of corrosion over the years, said the report.
Citing the condition, the BMC declared the bridge unsafe and decided to reconstruct it. Earlier in July 2018, the pavement of the Gokhale Bridge collapsed due to heavy corrosion and overload.
Apart from this, the Western Railway on 22 November announced the cancellation few trains both on the Up and Down main lines between Valsad and Dungri for two hours on November 23. It cited a girder launch for a railway overbridge as the reason. The train services on this stretch will be affected for two hours between 11.10 AM to 1.10 PM on Thursday.
