Amid the 63-hour block on the Central Railway, the work is in progress for widening Platform 5/6 at Thane station and extension of Platform 10/11 at CSMT to accommodate 24-coach trains, CR said on Saturday.
The mega block, which started at Thursday midnight, has affected the suburban services on CR’s main corridor, causing inconvenience to lakhs of office-goers.
“This block will be beneficial for long-distance travellers as we will be able to run trains with 24 coaches, which were previously limited to 18,” according to Swapnil Nila, CR’s chief public relations officer.
The work of placing pre-cast RCC blocks was completed at Platform 5 of Thane station at 4.45 am on Saturday, the CR said in a post on X. The platform wall is being constructed, it added.
As per Central Railway, 930 suburban locals and 86 long-distance trains will remain cancelled during the 63-hour mega block. Of these, the highest 545 suburban services and more than 35 long-distance trains will remain cancelled on Saturday.
Besides the cancellation of trains, there will be short termination and short-orientation of suburban trains on Saturday and, hence, passengers are likely to face maximum inconvenience, officials said.
“Four additional UTS counters have been opened at Dadar for short-originating trains for the convenience of the passengers. Bulk messages have been sent to all long-distance travellers whose trains are impacted in any way,” the CR said.