Pune: The Pune Railway Division has sent a proposal to the Railway Board (Engineering) for expansion of foot over bridges (FOB) at three suburban stations on Pune-Lonavla rail routes - Pimpri, Akurdi and Dehu Road.

The stampede at Elphinstone Road station, which killed 22 people and injured several others in Mumbai on September 29, 2017, has raised questions about the safety of passengers at the Pune railway station, where a congested 19th-century FOB is used by thousands of passengers everyday.

“An FOB and skywalk were recently inaugurated at Pune railway station, which connect the vehicle parking at Raja Bahadur Mill and front gate of Pune railway station. Heavy passenger movement has also been recorded in Pimpri, Akurdi and Dehu Road stations, which also required FOBs. The proposal to expand the current FOBs up to six metres, which are now only two metres, has been sent to higher authorities,” said a highly placed officer of Pune railway division.

During the peak hours - from 8.30 am to 9.30 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm - passengers use the single FOB. The officials said that if the proposal is accepted by the authority, it will help thousands of passengers, who travel every day from these stations. 

Milind Deouskar, DRM, Pune railway division, said, “Our priority is to provide better facilities to passengers with security, service and punctuality, and we are working on it.”