Monsoon fury in Mumbai: Railways crippled, many stranded

Due to water-logging at Kalyan, Thane, Mulund, Vitthhalwadi, Kalwa, Badlapur and some other stations, the CR had temporarily suspended services between CSMT-Vashi on the harbour line and between CSMT-Thane on the main line. Till Saturday evening, services were running only between Vashi and Panvel and CSMT-Bandra/ Goregaon on the harbour line, Thane-Kalyan/Karjat/Kasara/ Khopoli on the main line, the trans-harbour line and Belapur/ Nerul section.

Waterlogging on the tracks continued in the second half of the day, though there was no significant rainfall. The CR said it was forced to suspend train movement due to backflow of water from the Mithi river, which was above the danger level. The railways was also wary about the high tide that struck in the afternoon. Due to waterlogging, the railway tracks, including two of the Harbour lines, were submerged due to the water level rising to eight inches.

People walk on railway tracks near Thane station after central railway services were shut following heavy downpour and waterlogging in Kurla. (Express photo: Deepak Joshi)

“Due to rains coinciding with high tide, resulting in backflow of water in Kurla/Sion/ Chunabhati section, services have been temporarily suspended between CSMT-Vashi on Harbour line and CSMT-Thane on mainline,” said Sunil Udasi, CPRO, CR.

A portion of a road overbridge collapsed on Harbour line tracks near Chembur station, towards CSMT. As train movement on the Harbour line was suspended, no one was hurt in the mishap, which occurred around 3 pm. A Central Railway spokesperson claimed a flower bed of the bridge had collapsed, and that the Public Works Department was responsible for the bridge’s maintenance.

CR services were running at a restricted speed, with a delay of 30 minutes on the main line, and of 15-20 minutes on Harbour line. “Suburban trains were running with cautious speed,” said Udasi.

While the CR operated special services between CSMT-Dadar, Vashi-Panvel Thane-Kalyan/ Kasara and Kurla-Kalyan stations, the frequency was sparse. Many passengers also waded through flooded tracks between Kurla and Sion stations. All CR services were restored at around 5.41 pm.

Commuters using the WR services weren’t as affected; while the trains ran with a delay of around 15 minutes, services were not suspended at any point. The WR faced a technical snag near Goregaon railway station, due to which there was a further delay of 15-20 minutes.

On lines where services were suspended, hundreds of commuters were stranded on the piled locals on tracks. Tired of waiting for the trains to move ahead, many passengers jumped on the tracks and walked to the nearest station. Apart from road and rail transport, the aviation sector too was affected by heavy rain. Several flights had a delay of up to 30 minutes in take-off and landing.