With the Thane Railway Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) undertaken by Thane Municipal Corporation being put on the fast track, the Central Railway, too, is offering new amenities for commuters: the first is a wide foot over-bridge (FOB) to connect all the ten platforms. According to Central Railway divisional railway manager J N Lal, the drawing and design of the FOB is over and the proposal along with the estimates has been sent to the Railway Board for approval.

“It will be 12 metre wide and have access to all platforms. The project has an estimated cost of Rs 8 crore,” said Lal.

As of now, the SATIS project offers an elevated deck for TMT buses and an elevated concourse for suburban ticket booking office that would link the station through the two existing FOBs on the south end and north end of the station. The proposed FOB will be aligned with the SATIS so that commuters can enter and exit through the elevated deck of the SATIS project to the proposed FOB.

As per official figures, on an average, 4.5 lakh commuters visit Thane railway station every day, of which a formidable chunk travels during peak hours in the morning and evening. The two existing FOBs get choked and remain so even several minutes after the trains depart. The problem faced by commuters to exit or enter the platform is acute on platforms three and four.

Platform three is predominantly used for Thane trains which again leave for Mumbai CST while platform number four is used for CST-bound trains coming in on the Kasara-Karjat-Kalyan route. Often, during peak hours, when a Mumbai-bound train arrives on platform four, it takes about 10-15 minutes for the throng of commuters to clear the platform through the existing two FOBs. The problem is compounded when a train arrives on platform number four and simultaneously a Thane-bound train arrives on platform number three.