By June, escalators on 3 Western Railway stations

 MUMBAI: The Western Railway (WR) plans to inaugurate the city's first escalators at Dadar, Andheri and Borivli railway stations by June end.

"The work is in progress and we expect to complete the project by June. The escalators will benefit commuters, especially the physically challenged and senior citizens," said a senior railway official.

WR chief public relations officer Sharat Chandrayan confirmed that work on the escalators was being expedited and might be completed by June-July. "The escalators, which will be a value-added service, will surely be a hit with commuters," he added.

The WR plans to build 13 more escalators at various stations, including Vile Parle, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Lower Parel, Mira Road, Bhayander, Nalasopara and Virar.

"The escalators will be of immense help, especially to senior citizens. My mother has a severe knee problem and avoids travelling by trains as she prefers not to climb the foot overbridges," said Varsha Mhatre, who lives in Dadar.

Chandrayan also said the WR recently opened a new foot overbridge (FOB) at Vile Parle station. "We want to ensure faster dispersal of commuters to and from stations. We have 102 FOBs and plan to build at least 30 more. We are also looking at more FOBs to cater to the 12-car and 15-car trains," he added. While work on 15 new FOBs is on, the railway is drawing up plans for 15-16 more FOBs, said sources.