CR plagued by alleged fight, fire, on Friday, several trains delayed

Train services on Central Railway (CR) were disrupted on Friday, with delays of 15 to 30 minutes reported across several routes due to multiple incidents throughout the day

Mumbai: Train services on Central Railway (CR) were disrupted on Friday, with delays of 15 to 30 minutes reported across several routes due to multiple incidents throughout the day. Services on the Main and Harbour lines were particularly affected.

CR plagued by alleged fight, fire, on Friday, several trains delayed.

On the Main line, a disruption was reported around 10 am after a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-bound slow local came to a halt shortly after leaving Sion station. A quarrel allegedly involving two to three passengers inside one of the coaches caused a ruckus, prompting officials to stop the train.

A CR official said, “They ended up falling down beside the tracks near the Sion station. Due to this, the power supply from the overhead cables for those tracks was turned off. These passengers suffered injuries and were taken to the hospital.”

The Government Railway Police (GRP) identified the injured as Afzal Chaudhari, 36, of Govandi, Sachin Vishvakarma, 21, of Thane, and Jainil Sayyad, 25, of Kurla, who fell from the slow local between Sion and Matunga. However, the GRP denied that the fall was caused by a fight and said the matter is under investigation.

“All three suffered injuries after falling from a moving train and are undergoing treatment at Sion Hospital. They are yet to give statements. Prima facie, overcrowding is suspected to be the cause,” a railway police officer said. The incident comes a week after a professor from NM College was stabbed at Malad station and later died.

Further delays were reported in the evening after a heap of garbage lying adjacent to the tracks caught fire between Thane and Kalva stations around 6:30 pm, causing thick smoke to engulf the tracks. “Caution orders were imposed on both lines during the firefighting operations. The fire was extinguished by 7 pm after which train services slowly began again,” said a CR official.

Earlier in the day, Harbour line services were affected due to a signal failure between Mansarovar and Khandeshwar, with trains towards Panvel and CSMT operated under caution. On Thursday, a signal failure at CSMT had also disrupted services.

Additionally, the late arrival of eight to ten mail and express trains into CSMT during the morning peak hours affected suburban operations, forcing several local trains to run behind schedule. Railway officials said ongoing infrastructure work across the suburban network has contributed to slower train movements.

Meanwhile, CR will carry out an 85-day mega block on platforms 16 and 17 at CSMT from February 1 to April 26 for redevelopment work by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA). During this period, train operations from these platforms will remain suspended.

“During this period train operations from these two platforms will remain suspended,” said a CR official who added that at least six long distance trains will be terminated early at Dadar, and one at Thane.