BENGALURU: TO put an end to trespassing on the tracks in Whitefield railway station, the Bengaluru Railway Division has put up a steel mesh at the opening from where the commuters walk on to the tracks to head to platforms 2 and 3. This move has angered the IT crowd that alights at this station to reach their offices in ITPL and Whitefield. They now will have to walk a long distance to take their trains.
The steel mesh was put up during the weekend. From Monday (April 9), commuters are being forced to walk longer.
Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division R S Saxena said, “We have done this only keeping public safety in mind.”
Trains from Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru, including the Chennai Express, Arakkonam Passenger, Marikuppam Passenger, Bangarpet MEMU, Whitefield MEMU, stop at Whitefield between 7am and 10am.
The station with four platforms has two entrances — one from Platform-1 side (popularly known as Satya Sai Ashram side) and another from Platform-4 side (where the Kadugodi bus station is located).
Platform 1, which is the main entrance, has a Foot Over Bridge that connects to the other three platforms. However, from the Platform-4 side, there is only a steel fabricated structure (referred to as overbridge) that connects the bus station side to the exit of Platform 1, outside the station.
Pratap Kumar Das, an engineer at a multinational firm in ITPL, said, “Earlier, those who used to alight at the bus station or get down from a train on Platform-4 would use the overbridge and reach exit of Platform 1. Then they would walk on the tracks to reach the mid platforms. But, since Monday, all of us are having a tough time because this portion has been barricaded.”
Sharath B, Team leader at IDrive India Pvt Ltd, said, “Vendors had broken a concrete wall on Platform-1 side and had created an opening long ago. Most of us enter the platform through it to go to the station. There is always long queue in the morning. It is tough when you are rushing to work in peak hours However, the real issue is in the evenings when we need to walk from the end of Platform-4, then exit from station, walk back all the way to reach Platform-1 and then access Platforms 2 and 3.”
“If we do not want to use the opening created by vendors, then we need to walk one km outside the station to access the FOB to reach Platforms 2 or 3,” Sharath said.
System administrator at a multinational firm, G Arun says, “Imagine the problems faced by senior citizens and ladies. Railways has not put in place the infrastructure between Platform 4 and other platforms.”
A railway official said the FOB could not be built from Platform-4 connecting all platforms. “If the state government makes land available to us, we can build the FOB,” he said.