Elphinstone Bridge to be demolished shortly, CR and WR mega blocks imminent

In the first phase, mega blocks will be undertaken over the CR lines, followed by Western Railway (WR)

MUMBAI: The British-era Elphinstone Bridge that extends over Parel and Prabhadevi railway stations has been more or less dismantled at its ends. Plans for the demolition of its most critical part—over the railway lines—are being discussed before finalising the mega blocks, which involve stopping train services to allow work on the tracks. Central Railway (CR) officials and the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC) are mulling three options, and a decision is expected to be finalised this week.

Preliminary work on demolishing Carroll Bridge, an important east-west connector, began on September 10. Plans for the demolition of its most critical part—over the railway lines—are being discussed. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

In the first phase, mega blocks will be undertaken over the CR lines, followed by Western Railway (WR). “We want to first take up Parel station, where the girder is 71 metres long, and then WR’s Prabhadevi station, with a 61-metre-long girder,” said an MRIDC official.

A CR official said that one of the proposed plans—a 20-hour-long single block at the site, during which period all local and outstation trains would be short-terminated at Parel and Prabhadevi—had been rejected. “It would have meant cancelling several hundred train services, led to a possibly chaotic situation in the dispersal of passengers from Dadar railway station and put undue pressure on Prabhadevi station,” said the official.

The other plans include 15 blocks of four hours each, which can be carried out over the weekends, mostly at night. This could include a main block for a longer duration although it has not yet been finalised. “We have suggested a technical option: slewing the overhead power cables (OHE) and then taking the block,” said a CR official. “This will reduce the block period to 2.5 hours per night. We have asked MRIDC to examine the possibility and discuss all the options again before freezing one.”

Sources said the 2.5-hour blocks could be undertaken on alternate nights. This could take three weeks and would also include weekends, where there would be longer block hours. This will reduce inconvenience to passengers.

Meanwhile the issue of paying ‘way leave’ charges—a rent for using rail premises for the project—continues. Sources said the CR authorities, after a revised calculation, had sought around ₹47 crore instead of the earlier ₹9 crore, while WR has asked MRIDC to cough up ₹59.14 crore, a sum yet to be approved by MMRDA.

Preliminary work on demolishing Elphinstone Bridge, an important east-west connector, began on September 10. The asphalt has been ripped up on the approach roads at both ends of the bridge, and paver blocks on the footpaths have been dismantled.

The ₹167-crore project involves building a new double-decker flyover which will be part of the Sewri-Worli Elevated Connector. The demolition is scheduled to be completed by January 2026 and the new bridge expected to be completed by January 2027.