Commuters face chaos as technical snags hit Mumbai local trains

Mumbai's local train services on Western and Central Railway lines faced severe disruptions.

Technical issues included multiple point failures on Western Railway and an overhead wire incident on Central Railway.

The disruptions led to significant delays, overcrowding, and inconvenience for daily commuters during rush hour.

Point failures affected services at Vasai Road, Dadar, and Goregaon, impacting fast lines and Harbour Line.

An overhead wire falling near Mulund station caused a temporary halt on the Central Railway's main line.

Local train services on both Western and Central Railway lines were disrupted in Mumbai on Monday due to technical issues, leaving commuters harried on the first working day of the week amid sultry weather.

The Western Railway services were hit by multiple point failures at different locations, while the Central Railway operations were affected after a wire fell on the overhead equipment near Mulund station, officials said.

Sparks were reported from the overhead wire following the incident near the busy Mulund station, which caused smoke and triggered panic among commuters.

The disruptions led to delays and overcrowding of local trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, on several suburban routes, causing inconvenience to daily commuters during the morning rush hour and later in the day.

Commuters complained that Western Railway suburban services were severely hit by point failures. They claimed the services were running at least 20-30 minutes late in the afternoon, and to make matters worse, there was bunching of trains between Grant Road and Churchgate stations in south Mumbai. As a result, trains were taking considerably longer to reach their destinations.

According to a Western Railway spokesperson, the first point failure occurred at Vasai Road in neighbouring Palghar district at 4.46 am. Thereafter, two more point failures were reported at Dadar and Goregaon in Mumbai at 10.10 am and 10.22 am, respectively.

Due to the point failure at Dadar, services on both the up and down fast lines were affected, while the issue near Goregaon station disrupted operations on the Harbour Line, which connects Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai to Panvel in Navi Mumbai and Goregaon.

A Central Railway spokesperson said suburban services on the main line (connecting CSMT to Kalyan, Kasara in Thane and Khopoli in Raigad) were affected after a piece of wire fell onto the overhead equipment of the down slow line near Mulund at 11.53 am.

Officials suspected that the wire may have fallen while passenger deck work was being carried out by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) at the station, he said.

The wire piece was later removed from the overhead equipment by 12.15 pm, following which suburban services resumed within a few minutes, the official said.

Commuters, however, complained that suburban services were delayed. Nearly 75 lakh passengers travel on the city's local trains every day.