The Sion Road-Over-Bridge (ROB), a historic structure in Mumbai that is 110 years old, will be dismantled and replaced by a new bridge. This vital link connecting western suburbs to central and eastern Mumbai is undergoing redevelopment as the Central Railway (CR) and Mumbai Traffic Police finalise plans for its demolition.

A CR official stated: "We are working out the plan and will meet with the relevant authorities to finalise it. If permission comes in from the government agencies, we can start work within a month or even less."

Pravin Padwal, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), mentioned a planned meeting with CR to discuss the demolition, adding: "I will only be able to comment further on its demolition after that."

The purpose of the demolition of the Sion ROB is to create space for the fifth and sixth railway line between Kurla and Dadar/Parel. This separation is necessary to separate local train lines from long-distance train lines. Currently, the path between Vidyavihar and Dadar/CSMT is fully utilized and trains run at maximum capacity. A CR official explained that the expansion of suburban train services could only take place after extending the fifth and sixth lines to Dadar and CSMT.

The estimated cost of rebuilding the Sion ROB is about ?50 crore, which CR and the BMC are expected to share. The new ROB will have a single span of approximately 51 meters, traverse all six lines and provide a greater height of the tracks (5.4 meters or more) to allow for possible future track modifications to avoid water logging during rainy seasons.

One of the main challenges anticipated during the reconstruction is the diversion of road traffic. The Sion ROB connects several key areas, including Bandra-Kurla Complex, Kurla LBS Marg, Dharavi, and Sion, with over 1.5 lakh vehicles crossing it daily. To address this issue, railway sources revealed that work on alternative routes has been ongoing for over a year to alleviate traffic concerns before closing the Sion ROB. CR authorities estimate that rebuilding the bridge will take approximately two to two and a half years.