The Western Railway (WR) arranged a two-hour seminar at Mumbai Central Monday to teach Army officials details of railway functioning. Details of the operation of suburban trains and understanding of technical signage were given to the Army. Officials from the Bombay Sappers Group, Pune, are expected to make three foot overbridges at Parel-Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivali stations by January 31. The Army is expected to begin laying the foundation for bridges by the end of December. Railway officials said the Army was working on the technical design of the bridges.

“We had arranged a seminar for two hours between 3 pm and 5 pm to explain details of railway functioning to the Army. The seminar included details of the layout of the yard of Elphinstone Road station and nomenclature of technical details used in the Railways. They were further instructed about what is a safety zone and the precautions, which need to be maintained while working in the safety zone,” said Mukul Jain, Divisional Railway Manager, WR.

A total of 15 officials from the Army were present at the seminar, official said, adding that 19 railway officials guided them. The Army is conducting preparatory works on building the bridges at the sites. The officials said the team would need to cross tracks to move the material and require understanding of the halt signage of local trains while working during day hours.

“We guided them on the precautions they need to maintain while piling, laying foundation of the bridges, pier construction, material transportation and especially during crossing of lines. We have also informed them about where our railway officials will be posted to inform them on the arrival of a train. We also asked them to be careful about the type of cable wires while digging and asked them to take the required technical blocks if they have to suspend rail traffic during the work,” Jain added.

The overhead wires run on alternating current system carrying a voltage of 25 kilowatts. Army officials were instructed to maintain due distance from the wires. The Railways has also helped the Army with certain technical instruments required for the work.

“We are giving them the required traffic block as asked. We arranged this session to facilitate their work on bridges. As this is the first time the Army is working in the suburban train section of the city, we wanted to provide them complete assistance,” said Jain.