Thane: Level crossing at Vithalwadi shut as new ROB comes up

The spot where the road overbridge has come up in Vithalwadi

Yet another level crossing (LC) gate that used to delay suburban and long-distance trains on Central Railway (CR) was permanently shut this week after a road bridge opened for traffic over it at Vithalwadi. With this, commuters can travel without any hindrance on a five-km stretch. The LC road was very busy, with a traffic density of about six lakh road vehicles per annum, which used to detain many trains every day.

"The manned LC gate No. 1A between Kalyan and Vithalwadi has been closed for road traffic since now the option of this new ROB flyover has been made available for motorists," a Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) spokesperson said. Another rail official said, "Now, a continuous five-km stretch of Kalyan-Vithalwadi-Ulhasnagar and some portion of the Ulhasnagar-Ambarnath section have become free of any level crossing gates. It will make suburban local and mail express trains on this section safer and more punctual, and also help to increase the speed of these trains."

A section of the stretch, which is now free of obstacles for motorists

"This 1A LC gate was one of the busiest gates for road traffic in this section, which connects Kalyan-Badlapur road and Kurla Camp road. Heavy road and rail traffic at this gate and frequent closure/opening was detaining suburban locals, mail express trains and road vehicles," he added.

An MRVC official said, "The closure of this LC gate also reduces the need for deployment of staff, thus saving revenue. The construction work started on June 10, 2022, and concluded on August 8. The work was completed in 14 months, which is one of the quickest constructions of an ROB."

"The TUV (total unit vehicles) of this LC gate was 6,73,004 per annum. It's one of the busiest gates in the Kalyan suburban area.

The busiest LC gate of the Mumbai division is Diwa gate with a TUV of 8,53,358," he added. "The closure of the level crossing gate and opening of the ROB flyover will reduce detention of both rail and road traffic. It will save each train about 1-2 minutes," a CR official said.

Aug 8
Day ROB work was completed

What is TUV?

TUV is a unit of measurement of the heaviness of road and rail traffic at a particular gate. It is measured every year by a joint survey of railway officials of the civil engineering, signalling engineering and operations departments. TUV of more than one lakh makes an LC gate eligible for the sanctioning of the construction of either an ROB flyover or a road underbridge underpass.