Around 930 suburban trains will be cancelled in Mumbai this weekend, due to some infrastructure upgradation work that the Central Railways (CR) will undertake. Here is all you need to know about what is happening, and how it will impact Mumbaikars’ travel plans over the next few days. Why will Mumbai’s train services be disrupted? The Mumbai Division of CR will conduct a 63-hour special block for the widening of Platform 5/6 at Thane, and a 36-hour special block for the extension of Platforms 10/11 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). This is a part of CR’s infrastructure upgradation plans. Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Mumbai Division of CR, said that all divisions of the Indian Railways conduct blocks for maintenance and other related works. To avoid inconvenience to commuters, these blocks are generally carried out overnight, or on weekends and holidays. What will be the work undertaken during the block? In CSMT, the extension of platform 10/11 will facilitate long-distance trains to accommodate 24 coaches, significantly up from its current capacity of 13 coaches. This will hugely benefit intercity travellers from Mumbai to Pune or Nashik. In the Thane station, platform 5/6 will be widened to increase capacity, and reduce chances of overcrowding. This work would have typically taken 6 months but construction using modular pre-cast blocks will cut down construction time to only two and a half days. Which train services will be affected? During the 36-hour CSMT block, spanning from 12.30 am on June 1 to 12.30 pm on June 2, trains between CSMT-Byculla and CSMT-Vadala Road will not be operated. This will affect UP and DOWN Harbour Line trains between CSMT and Vadala Road (excluding), UP and DOWN slow lines between CSMT and Byculla (excluding), and UP and DOWN fast lines between CSMT and Byculla (excluding). During the 63-hour Thane block, spanning from 12.30 am on May 31 to 3.30 pm on June 2, many suburban services will be cancelled. Routes affected include the UP Slow Line from Kalva (including CSMT end crossovers), to Thane (all crossovers), the DOWN Fast Line from Thane (all crossovers), to Kalva (all crossovers), and the UP Fast Line from Kalva (all crossovers), to Thane (all crossovers). In total, 930 suburban train services will remain cancelled during the block period — around 161 on Friday, 534 on Saturday, and 235 on Sunday. Additionally, 444 suburban services will be short-terminated during the block period — seven on Friday, 306 on Saturday, and 131 on Sunday. What should daily commuters do? CR has urged all offices to allow their employees to work from home during the block period, to reduce the number of passengers in the suburban railways system, and avoid overcrowding on platforms. It has also urged passengers to avoid travel during the block period unless absolutely necessary. In a press release, it stated that these blocks are essential for the required infrastructure upgrades and will provide long-term benefits. In total, Mumbai Division of CR runs 1,810 local services daily, including 66 AC services. It saw a ridership of 137 crore in 2023-24.
