03 May,2025 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The old road near the Kalwa rail car shed that will be completely sealed once an FOB is commissioned for the public. Pic/Rajendra B. Aklekar
The age-old, albeit illegal, practice of boarding empty local trains from the rail car shed at Kalwa station will come to an end as the road outside the facility is being blocked and barricaded as part of Central Railway's (CR) efforts to build a massive wall and foot overbridge (FOB).
While thousands of commuters would board empty trains that departed from the car shed for Thane, from where they originate officially, Thane commuters used to complain that coaches would already be full when the trains arrived from the shed, despite them originating from Thane on paper.
mid-day highlighted, in February 2025, the plight of Kalwa commuters attempting to board the train during the morning rush hour, with several either getting in an empty car shed train or taking an auto all the way to Thane, spending R40 to R45 per day, or simply waiting it out.
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In 2022, fights and protests over AC and non-AC services had also led to a rail roko at the Kalwa car shed gate by commuters who used to board the train from there.
The plan is to build an FOB linked to the existing bridge at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) end of the station. This bridge will run parallel to the station for some distance, then cross over the car shed tracks and land in the west near the auto stand. This will eliminate the need to cross the tracks to enter the station. Parallely, the old road is being in the process of walled up and will be completely sealed once the FOB is commissioned for the public.
When mid-day visited the station on Friday, work on most of the pillars of the FOB seemed complete, and girders had been placed on the stretch of the bridge parallel to the station. Work on the wall had also been done, and it was being kept in readiness.
A commuter, Deepak Dubey, said the core issue was not being addressed. "The Railways should devise a logical and sustainable solution to enable trains from the Kalwa car shed to originate directly from Kalwa station, rather than dispatching empty rakes to Thane. This current practice adds unnecessary pressure on suburban passengers, particularly those from Kalwa, who are already dealing with high commuter volumes. Moreover, the recent move to erect walls and prevent commuters from boarding trains at the Kalwa car shed, despite it being a long-standing informal practice, does not address the core issue. Trains arriving from Karjat, Kasara, Khopoli, Badlapur, Titwala and Kalyan typically witness significant passenger offboarding at Thane, thereby creating adequate capacity for new passengers. Given its scale and resources, the Railways should focus on implementing practical, commuter-friendly solutions rather than resorting to arbitrary restrictions that lack a rationale and fail to serve the needs of daily travellers."
Another commuter, Gandharva Purohit, said, "This was inevitable. The practice of boarding from the car shed line was one of the reasons CR had to roll back AC train schedules [linked with 8.20 am CSMT fast from Thane] the other day. If the CR is providing the necessary infrastructure to access the platform, Kalwa residents can adjust their commutes accordingly."
Siddhesh Desai, vice-president of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh (MRPS), one of the oldest and biggest passenger associations, said, "Kalwa commuters are frustrated because currently the only way to catch the train is via the car shed. If this is prevented, there will be no option left for them in the morning. We already had multiple meetings, and a joint survey was conducted with Railway officials and MRPS members. I was a part of it, that time. The possibility of Parsik station and car shed trains initiating from a newly proposed station was positively checked. Even an extended platform towards Kalwa station at the Thane end was suggested, from where commuters can board trains. Let us see how they take it ahead."
"It is good from a safety point of view, but it does not address the problem of Kalwa residents. The Railways should address the issue of increasing services from Kalwa station," passenger activist Madhu Kotian said.
"It does not make sense for us to continue boarding the train at Kalwa station as it will now get more crowded. The only option left for us is to enter the train at Thane as we might get empty compartments," commuter Lokesh Varma said.
"All this will now lead to a hole in our pocket and congestion on the road to Thane station, as many Kalwa commuters will now prefer to travel via share autos to Thane to catch trains in the morning. The ideal way would be to halt a few fast trains at Kalwa and rescue us," Diwakar Mandal, another commuter, said.
"There are two types of Thane locals, one that comes from CSMT and returns.
The other is the empty one that will come from the car shed. Now, crowding will increase at Thane station. The need of the hour is to increase non-AC train services," Akshata Dhanavade, a commuter, said.
Ranjeet Belwale, another commuter, said, "With more and more Kalwa commuters coming to Thane station, there will be congestion and other problems. There are other commuters who return from Mulund and occupy seats in trains coming from CSMT."
