Western Railway is all set to open its first stainless steel foot over bridge( FOB) at Bhayander station on Friday. "A new Foot Over Bridge (FOB) will be commissioned at Bhayander station in the Mumbai Suburban section for the convenience as well as safety of passengers," said WR officials.
"The new Foot Over Bridge at Bhayander railway station (South End) is the first Stainless Steel FOB over Western Railway constructed with latest Structural material, innovative design which incorporates wider and easier slopes of stairs, making it easy to climb. The FOB is approx. 65 m long and 10 m wide and will be opened for railway commuters from Friday, 3rd June 2022" said officials.
"This FOB is designed for negligible maintenance during the service life, lower life cycle cost, and low carbon footprint. The weight saving of Structural steel in the case of Stainless Steel is approx. 30% compare to Mild Steel Convectional Design. In its commitment to a more comfortable experience for passengers, the innovative design has been adopted where the slope of staircase has been reduced by approx. 4 Degrees, making it easy and comfortable to climb" said an engineer of WR adding that the new structure is corrosion resistant and will reduce maintenance efforts in the corrosion-prone environment of Mumbai as compared to conventional steel, thus benefiting in the long run.
Explaining the benefits of stainless steel, another senior officer of WR said, "Barring the periodic inspection and cleaning, there is hardly any maintenance cost. This means that there will be very few traffic blocks needed for repairs of stainless steel made FOB and ROBs " In Mumbai, Railway authorities have to think twice before closing down a FOB because of the chaos it triggers.
In the suburban section of Mumbai, there are around 450 FOBs and ROB ( Road over bridge) including WR and CR jurisdiction. "Corrosion in structures is one of the persistent challenges faced in coastal regions such as Mumbai and has been a contributing factor in many mishaps and unsafe structures during the past few years," said a senior railway official adding a similar type of foot over bridge is also being constructed at Thane station of CRs suburban section.
Apart from CR and WR Railway Board has also directed other Railways to construct bridges in their jurisdiction using stainless steel. "The basic difference between stainless steel and ordinary structural steel is that the former contains alloys of chromium, copper, and nickel, which enable it to resist corrosion," said an engineer of Indian railway.
The main advantages of Stainless Steel are Corrosion resistance; Strength and Durability; Design Flexibility; Sustainable as it helps in the reduction of Carbon footprint and a significant reduction in the weight of the structure. The stainless steel used has 10-12 per cent chromium, a key ingredient in fighting and reducing corrosion. Being on coastal a area, the corrosion on Mild Steel (MS) FOBs is rampant and all Mild Steel FOBs need regular maintenance due to the heavy corrosive environment. For Stainless Steel FOB, although the initial cost of Stainless Steel FOB is approx. 10% higher as compared to normal MS FOB, the overall maintenance cost becomes approx. 40% cheaper considering the life span of 60 years.
