Mumbai: Expect the upgraded Khar station ready by June 2024

Almost 50 per cent of work on the elevated deck - 40m X 10m - is completed

The upgrade of Khar station is finally on, and almost 50 per cent of the work has been completed with a year's deadline and major improvements that promise an elevated deck, an additional platform, and more bridges.

The development of the station can take the load off Bandra station, as Khar has already been linked to Bandra Terminus with a 314 m long and 4.4-m wide foot overbridge at a cost of Rs 4.55 crore by Western Railway. This FOB has been rebuilt on replacement account as per an IIT audit report, and with this, a total of 11 FOBs have been commissioned in the financial year 2022-23 between Churchgate and Dahanu Road, taking the total to 144.

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Khar station, which is used by 1.6 lakh passengers every day, will have an upper deck which will take the load of the crowd, decongesting the platforms. The deadline for the project is June 2024 with a cost of about Rs 80 crore. Among the planned works are a 10-metre mid-deck, a booking office on it, a wider 22.5 m deck space for passenger circulation, and connections to all foot overbridges and toilet blocks. The station will also have another booking office.

"In addition to this, the middle bridge will be extended and the existing 4.5 m bridge will be replaced with a 6m bridge and a 7m skywalk. The station will also have four escalators and four elevators in addition to an additional home platform for the harbour line," an official said. "The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is remodelling smaller stations and upgrading them for future use as lines and corridors are set to expand with more passengers expected to use them," he added.