A wider entry to the foot overbridge (FOB) at Prabhadevi railway station has improved access for commuters, but passengers say congestion continues to build up on the narrower stairways connecting the platforms to the bridge.
Railway authorities said the additional space at the south-side entrance is intended to create smoother passenger movement, improve dispersal and reduce crowding during busy periods. However, commuters believe the improvement has not fully addressed the bottleneck created at the stairs.
‘Crowding shifts to stairs’
Mukesh Makhija, a commuter, welcomed the expansion but said the overall movement pattern still needs attention.
“Widening the south-side entry at Prabhadevi station is a welcome step and has improved passenger movement. However, it has not fully resolved peak-hour crowding. The main issue is the uneven flow and concentration of passengers on the footbridge,” he said.
Makhija called for clearer segregation of movement, barricading and sufficient Railway Protection Force (RPF) deployment to regulate commuters travelling in opposite directions.
“With such high footfall, even a minor obstruction can create a dangerous situation and increase the risk of a stampede. Infrastructure upgrades must therefore be matched by effective crowd management” he said.
Another commuter, Shreya Shinde, said congestion quickly returns once passengers reach the stairs.
“The wider entrance is definitely better, but the moment passengers reach the stairs, the crowd again gets compressed. During peak hours, people coming down and those going up struggle to pass each other,” she said.
Shinde also pointed to the difficulty women can face in tightly packed stairways, where passengers are forced to squeeze past one another.
“They have only widened the staircase area at the entrance. But still, if two trains on either platform come at the same time, it’s the same situation.
However, after mid-day took up the issue, there has been a positive change in terms of managing the crowd and also having RPFs available to avoid any untoward situation. Everyone safely manages to enter and exit,” another commuter, Renu Chaudhary, said.
‘Look at the entire movement system’
Sanjay Singh, another passenger, said the solution needs to cover the complete route from the platforms to the FOB rather than focusing only on the entrance.
“The problem should be looked at as a complete passenger movement system. Widening just the entry will not be enough if the stairs and the flow between the platform and FOB remain congested,” he said.
The experience at Prabhadevi highlights how passenger safety depends not only on expanding access points but also on managing stairway capacity, directional movement and crowd distribution.
While the wider FOB entrance has created more space for commuters entering and leaving the station, passengers say the next step should be addressing the narrow stairs and ensuring smoother two-way movement during peak periods.
With heavy suburban railway footfall, even small improvements in crowd management can affect how safely and efficiently passengers move through the station. The focus now is on ensuring that upgrades at one point of the station are matched by improvements across the entire passenger circulation system.
Source: Mid-day
