BENGALURU: After years of risking lives of passengers who boarded trains at Whitefield railway station, people entering the station from the back can finally reach the platforms safely.
The Bengaluru Railway Division has completed a new skywalk to the existing Foot Over Bridge (FOB) that would connect all the four platforms of the station.
The final touches, including painting works, are underway and the skywalk is set for launch on January 11. It will run to a length of 170 metres and width of 3 metres, a senior railway official said.
The FOB from Kadugodi bus stop allows a person to reach Whitefield-Hoskote Main Road only and not anywhere inside or near the station.
"This forced passengers to walk back for one kilometer to enter the station. To avoid that, commuters used to walk a little further and make a dash to platforms via the railway tracks during peak morning and evening hours. On any day, an average of 150 people used to put themselves to risk by trespassing in this fashion," said a senior official.
The FOB was constructed in 2013 after five people were run over while crossing tracks. But it was done without the bridge terminating inside the platforms. However, those who wanted to enter from the main entry of Whitefield station did not face any such issue.
Sudarshan Ranganathan, an IT professional, who has used the Whitefield station to board trains on and off says, "The connection will be very useful both for short distance commuters who board trains here to travel within the City as well as long distance commuters," he said.
Anjali Saini, a member of Whitefield Rising said the group had been repeatedly asking for this facility to help public and had accompanied Divisional Railway Managers in the past to the spot to explain the dangers faced by public daily.
Senior Divisional Engineer, Co-ordination, Bengaluru Railway Division Parvesh Kumar told The New Indian Express, "The connecting bridge is all set to be launched early next year. Trespassing on these tracks can fully be curbed once it is in place."
There were numerous instances reported in the past of passengers even crawling beneath stationed trains to rush to board trains.
Thousands, particularly IT professionals, commute by passenger trains to and fro between the City and Whitefield station and take autos or cabs to their workspot. On a rough count, an average of 35 trains had a stoppage here every day before March, said a railway official.
The skywalk was supposed to be ready by end of 2019, but was delayed. "There was a delay of four months this year because of Covid and labour shortage," a railway official said.
Welcoming the development, urban transportation expert Sanjeev Dyamannavar said, "It will help a large number of commuters to interchange between different transportation modes safely. It was a long pending demand of local train users. It will also reduce the distance between this end of Whitefield station and the main entrance."