Signal cable catches fire in Kalyan, hits CR services
Central Railway (CR) services were thrown out of gear on Monday after a signal cable in Kalyan caught fire a little after noon.
Central Railway (CR) services were thrown out of gear on Monday after a signal cable in Kalyan caught fire a little after noon.
Around 12.07pm, a signal cable outside the Kalyan yard caught fire. This caused the signal between Kalyan and Shahad to stop working, which affected the running of Kasara-bound trains.
Consequently, four trains running between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Titwala were terminated at Kalyan.
“As the signal between Kalyan and Shahad was not working, we instructed the motormen to run the train at very slow speed,” said AK Singh, public relations officer, Central Railway.
Although railway authorities claimed that only services between Kalyan and Kasara were running late by 15-20
minutes, commuters complained that all services were hampered.
“In the afternoon, all trains were running late by a maximum of 30 minutes. By evening, they were running 15-20 minutes late. Moreover, the trains were running very slowly on the route. A delay of 10 minutes on the central line is becoming routine, but Monday was a nightmare,” said Madhu Kotian, president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.
Commuters were particularly harrowed because of the lack of intimation about train arrivals after both the loudspeakers and indicators stopped functioning.
“Passengers at the Thane station waited for more than half an hour for a slow train since no announcements were being made,” said Kotian.