MUMBAI, February 16: Western Railway commuters had a bad time on Monday as train services were disrupted for four hours due to derailment of three loaded wagons of a goods train at Andheri station at 2 pm on Monday.Home-bound commuters from Churchgate had a tough time in the evening even as others were stranded at almost all the stations between Churchgate and Andheri in the afternoon as the fast up rail-line remained blocked for more than four hours. About 20 train services were regulated up to 6 pm after which rail traffic slowly began to operate.Western Railway chief PRO Bhagwat Dahisarkar said the train was transporting cement from Kandivli to Andheri goods shed when the wagons derailed near platform No 5 at Andheri. The cement was to be off-loaded at Andheri shed across the station.Following the derailment, fast local trains, which were stranded behind the goods train, were diverted along the slow track from Goregaon to Andheri leading to a delay of 10 to 12 minutes in suburban services, heclaimed adding trains were running normally from 6 pm onwards.However, commuters had a different tale to narrate. The Churchgate station, which is otherwise crowded during peak hours was packed to the maximum with stranded passengers.Irate passengers were seen requesting taximen to reach them to their residences but for those who stayed in the far suburbs had no choice but to wait till another train arrived.Express Newsline spoke to some stranded passengers at Churchgate. "It took me more than 10 minutes to navigate my way out of Churchgate station concourse," said R Sharma, an Andheri resident. All stations on the western suburbs also were packed to full capacity with passengers anxiously awaiting the trains arrival.A student was heard complaining that she missed her classes scheduled at 6 pm at Fort because "the fast train took more than 45 minutes to reach Goregaon from Borivli". Confusion prevailed at various stations because the slow trains were more punctual than the fast ones. Peoplewere seen running from one platform to the other searching for the one that would leave first.BEST buses were seen packed to capacity with hundreds of passengers crowding the bus stops. Another commuter Seema Khot who was on her way home in Malad chose to spend her time shopping at the Cross Maidan mela. "I have decided to wait till the crowd disperses. A stroll in a mela at Cross maidan is what I am thinking of," she added.The motormen office at Churchgate was thronged by inquisitive commuters asking questions like, "what time will the next train come, is the WR following the footsteps of the Central Railway (CR), among others."Station officials had a hard time explaining the commuters about the delay which was beyond their control. Even as the trains were running late by over 45 minutes till going to the press, the WR spokesperson maintained the delay was not over 15 minutes.
