Railway's 2-day block for CSMT platform extension to affect several trains

Central Railway on Thursday announced a two-day special mega block from Friday night to carry out extension of a platforms at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to accommodate 24-coach trains.

Many suburban and long distance will be affected by this work, an official said. "The special block is planned for pre and post non-interlocking works and will be carried out in two phases of 5 hours and 10 hours from Friday night onwards.  The first phase will start from Friday night at 11.30 pm and end on Saturday at 4.30 am. The 10-hour phase will be from 11:15pm on Saturday to 9:15am on Sunday," said CR chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila.  The special block is necessary to extend platforms 12 and 13 to accommodate 24-coach trains, enhancing capacity and improving passenger convenience, he added.  The work involves extending island platform 12 and 13 to 690 metres from 510 metres and will see the shifting of 31 overhead cables, connecting of 34 signal systems, and laying 500 metres of new tracks.  This platform extension, which part of a Rs 62.18 crore project sanctioned in the Union budget 2023-24, will ensure all main line platforms, except number 8-9, can accommodate 24 coach trains at CSMT.  Platform 8 and 9 cannot be extended due to space constraints. "A total of 59 suburban services will remain cancelled on main and harbour corridors on both the days, while six long distance trains will remain cancelled on Saturday and Sunday.  The Pune-CSMT Deccan, Pune-CSMT Intercity, and Nanded-CSMT Tapovan will remain cancelled on Saturday, while CSMT-Pune Deccan, CSMT-Pune Intercity, and CSMT-Nanded Tapovan will remain cancelled on Saturday," Nila said.  Many other suburban and long distance trains will be either short terminated, short originated or diverted due to the block, the official informed. Due to this work, CR has cancelled the regular regular Sunday mega block.