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Western Railway (WR) had a brush with history when it replaced one of the oldest structural components on Mumbai suburban railway, a 129-year-old span near Kandivali, a move that will boost the speed of services on the section. A plaque on the old structure has been preserved.

Fabricated by the same firm that had worked on the iconic Jubilee Bridge in West Bengal (spanning the Hooghly River between Naihati and Bandel), which was opened in 1885 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 50th year on the throne, the bridge at Kandivali had been a living relic of early railway engineering. Forged in 1897, when Mumbai was gripped by a brutal plague, this span has outlived a crisis that reshaped the city itself.

The operation

Eight old steel girders were carefully delaunched and replaced with 28 PSC slabs and eight retainers. A temporary cofferdam (watertight enclosure) was built along the Poisar river to anchor heavy machinery, while cranes worked through the day and night to position the new structures. Nearly 180 workers were deployed for the effort, which was executed under the supervision of senior engineering officials. The block, which began at 10.50 pm on March 28, was completed on schedule by 7.30 pm the following day. It was supervised by Senior Divisional Engineer Ajay Singh Rajput and his team.

Official Speak

The Brandon Bridge Building Company Limited plaque, which has been preserved

“During a 21-hour mega block, one of the longest in suburban railway history, the WR undertook the regirdering of Major Bridge No. 61, replacing four spans of ageing steel structures on the Down and Up local lines. For over a century, these riveted steel members had carried millions of commuters, surviving floods, rising traffic loads and the relentless expansion of the suburban system. Their replacement with modern pre-stressed concrete (PSC) slabs marks an engineering upgrade,” said  Vineet Abhishek, chief public relations officer (CPRO),  WR.

Heritage aspect

The CPRO added, “We have also saved the old plaque, which documents the construction of the original infrastructure that once defined the city’s growth.” The plaque reads “The Brandon Bridge Building Company Limited, BB&CIR. 595, Contract BB-8, Motherwell, NB 1897 (sic),” where BBCIR stands for the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway and NB stands for North Britain.