Hyderabad: Narrow bridge forces users to walk on rails

Hyderabad: The foot over-bridge at Lingampally railway station has caused more grief than comfort for those commuters using it on a daily basis. Barely five feet wide, the over-bridge struggles to deal with the mammoth crowd that crosses it to reach the platforms. The situation aggravates during the peak hours of  the morning and evening when commuters enter and exit the railway station in droves. It is particularly distressful for women commuters who have to deal with gropers in the crowd.

The railway station is crucial as it’s the final destination on the western end of MMTS service, connecting outskirts like Pattancheru and RC Puram to the city.  Ligampally station has seen a dramatic rise in footfalls with Gachibowli and Serlingampally having turned to residential hubs for IT employees.

The station has six platforms and is also a stoppage for major inter-city trains with destinations like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Bubaneshwar etc. Despite the heavy pressure faced by the Ligampally station, there is no constructive effort being made by the railways to improve the situation.

 With the second phase of Multi Model Transport System (MMTS) becoming operational by December this year, connecting Tellapur and RC Puram, Ligampally station will be seeing a further and significant rise in footfalls.

Though a broader second over-bridge is open to the public towards the end of the station, it connects only platform one to platform three. As MMT trains come to halt at platform 6 often, passengers hardly use this over-bridge. An exit to platform six from this over-bridge has been under construction for the last two years.

Passengers complain that as the MMTS could arrive unannounced at any platform, they are forced to linger on the foot over-bridge to make it to the train on time, thereby adding to the crowd on the narrow bridge.

“It is a struggle every morning as we have to push and pull in order to reach down,” says Aishwarya, a regular commuter between Necklace Road and Lingampally. In frustration, many commuters resort to crossing the tracks in an effort to reach the platform faster.

 The railway police-in-charge, Sub Inspector, Pawar says, “The morning rush is a problem with people jumping onto the tracks to save a minute or two. How many times should we tell them to not to cross the tracks?”