Old FOB will be opened only to disabled commuters from Mar. 15 - Hindustan Times
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Old FOB will be opened only to disabled commuters from Mar. 15

Mar 06, 2023 01:17 AM IST

Additional divisional railway manager Brijesh Kumar Singh of the Pune railway division said, “Currently, the work to strengthen the old bridge and its pillars

Pune - If things go as planned, the old foot-overbridge (FOB) at Pune railway station which is currently closed for public use, will be opened only to physically-disabled passengers from March 15 so that they can use the connecting ramps to move to and from platform numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Presently, both aged and disabled passengers have to climb up or down the staircases leading to these platforms as the new FOB has no connecting ramps.

The old FOB – built around 1925 to 1930 during British rule - was closed down in 2021 after several cracks developed in its pillars. (HT PHOTO)
The old FOB – built around 1925 to 1930 during British rule - was closed down in 2021 after several cracks developed in its pillars. (HT PHOTO)

Additional divisional railway manager Brijesh Kumar Singh of the Pune railway division said, “Currently, the work to strengthen the old bridge and its pillars, and trial runs for physically disabled passengers are underway at Pune railway station. As the old FOB is closed for general passengers, the connecting ramps too are not available to them. When a disabled passenger needs to go to other platforms however, s/he will be taken by our railway staff via the old FOB ramps. If all our works get completed, the service will start by March 15.”

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The old FOB – built around 1925 to 1930 during British rule - was closed down in 2021 after several cracks developed in its pillars. Also, there was a proposal to install five lifts at the new FOB for the elderly and disabled but the same is awaiting official clearance. Whereas Hindustan Times had reported earlier about the inconvenience faced by elderly and disabled passengers travelling from Pune railway station.

Harsha Shah, president, Railway Pravasi Group, said, “Daily, thousands of passengers travel from Pune railway station and it won’t be feasible to allow only disabled passengers. The railway administration should have thought about this issue much earlier while constructing the new FOB and should have made ramps there too. The railway should immediately find a solution to this as not only the disabled but thousands of elderly people too struggle daily to climb up and down the staircases from and to the platforms.”

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