Mumbai: Reay Road station building to move a little

In an unprecedented move the overcenturyold ticket counter of Reay Road station one of the cityrsquos five listed heritage railway stations will be dismantled and reconstructed a few metres away from its original spotThis is being done so as to accommodate a stateoftheart bridge that will come up in place of a centuryold bridge that was demolished last monthThe old bridge was in a dangerous condition as per an IIT audit Its successor has a cablestayed design like the Bandra Worli Sea Link and is being built by the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited MRIDC as a part of its endeavour to rebuild 11 road overbridges and one road underbridge in Mumbai and suburban regionsThe plan to dismantle and reconstruct the station was presented to the cityrsquos heritage committee last year and received preliminary consent As per the proposal a copy of which is with midday the ticket counter which forms the station faccedilade on the road bridge requires to be shiftedReay Road station was the first terminus of the harbour line railway when it was originally completed in 19091910 PicAshish RajeldquoThe proposal contemplates dismantling and reconstruction of the Reay Road ticket counter further to the north by a few metres on a new base due to the increase in height and width of the new bridge to facilitate the required clearance above railway tracks The connecting ramps shall also be shifted accordingly to provide access to the platformrdquo it states The station structure has featured in the Grade I list of 1995 and later in the Grade IIA list of 2012Giving inprinciple consent the cityrsquos heritage committee sanctioned the work to be conducted under a conservation expertAlso Read Mumbai Western Railwayrsquos AC milestone stings CR travellersldquoThe site was visited by the committee along with the representatives of MRIDC and the railways It was observed that the structure has been highly neglected and in a bad shape The building is structurally and aesthetically modest and doing a systematic deconstruction and reconstruction was possible Considering all facts in the larger interest of the public and convenience of city mobility the committee granted lsquoinprinciplersquo consent for the scheme of shifting of the structurerdquo the heritage committee observedldquoA conservation expert should be appointed for the work Its detailed heritage documentation including its special features material specifications and construction technology should be prepared before commencing any work The comprehensive proposal including documentation details of systematic dismantling and reconstruction shall be prepared by a conservation expert and submitted to the heritage committee for its approval before starting any workrdquo said the minutes of a meeting of the heritage committee Officials said the MRIDC has been already working on this and will be maintaining the heritage splendour of the structureldquoThe new cablestayed bridge will have a longer span to minimise the number of foundations as well as shifting of underground utilities The proposed foundation arrangement and bridge structure will allow traffic movement to continue through the underpass of Barrister Nath Pai Road Also it will maintain the required vertical clearance as per the Indian Roads Congress IRC standardrdquo Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal managing director MRIDC saidFeatures of the new bridgegtgt The cablestayed bridge will add aesthetic appeal to the worldclass heritage structure MRIDC has designed architectural LED lighting on the bridge that will enhance the aesthetic appeal and improve safety parametersgtgt The bridge is planned in such a way that the requisite vertical clearance is maintained and the height required for the passing of vehicles on the Eastern Freeway is achievedgtgt The bridge will avoid the central pier that is present at the west and east side underpass which is prone to accidentsgtgt Pedestrian movement towards Reay road station shall be ensured by providing a footpath on the Cotton Greenend of the proposed ROB A selfie point will also be provided on the iconic bridgegtgt The length of the bridge is 385 metres and the approximate cost of construction is R143 crore The plan is to complete the construction work in less than two years said officialsFirst terminus of harbour lineThe station is important because it was the first terminus of the harbour line railway when it was originally completed in 19091910 The station was opened as a terminus on December 12 1910 and named after Donald Mackay 11th lord of Reay Country north coast of Scotland today Strathnaver who was the governor of Bombay from 1885 to 1890 The elevated basalt structure features faded etching on both its sidewalls that read Reay Road GIPR Great Indian Peninsula Railway A wall clock embedded in one of the arched eight windows in the building above the two tracks faces the platforms1910Year Reay Road station was opened