Signals fail again, trains run 15-20 minutes late as Central Railway disruptions mark day two

Central Railway is considering opening its staff special train to all commuters after employees allegedly refused to let stranded passengers board at Thane.

Suburban services on Central Railway (CR) were disrupted for the second consecutive day on Tuesday due to a 45-minute signal failure at Kanjurmarg, which led to trains running at least 15-20 minutes late throughout the day, according to officials.

Monday’s signalling failure led to the cancellation of 80 suburban services and delays of up to 90 minutes, leaving thousands of commuters stranded. (HT Photo)

The disruption occurred while railway staff were still repairing equipment damaged in Monday’s fire at a signalling relay room in Kanjurmarg, which had thrown suburban services into chaos and left thousands of commuters stranded for hours.

Fresh signal failure causes 45-minute disruption

On Tuesday, at least two signals—on the Fast line towards the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the Fast line towards Kalyan—were impacted again due to a technical failure at the signalling hut. The signals went down around 2.10 pm and were rectified within 45 minutes, officials said.

“Work was still underway at Kanjurmarg, so this was minor teething trouble. The main issues have been dealt with, and we will be submitting a primary report on probable reasons behind the fire that led to the disruption of services,” said a CR official.

Two fast-line signals failed again on Tuesday.

CR officials acknowledged that the relay room at Kanjurmarg lacked adequate temperature control and monitoring systems. According to an official, air conditioners (ACs) are installed only in larger signalling relay rooms at important stations. “As per the directives from Railway Board, those relay rooms that set 100 or so routes on tracks, or are located at major stations, have ACs inside to maintain temperature,” the official said.

Installing air-conditioning in smaller relay rooms, such as the one at Kanjurmarg, would require consultation with the Railway Ministry, the official added.

CR is now considering inspections of other smaller relay rooms along the Main and Harbour lines to identify potential vulnerabilities and prevent similar incidents.

Incident on staff special train

Meanwhile, CR has ordered an inquiry into an incident during Monday’s disruption in which railway employees allegedly refused to allow stranded commuters to board a staff special train at Thane.

A video circulated on social media showed commuters pleading with railway staff to open the train doors. After the staff refused, one irate commuter was seen throwing water at the closed doors.

The incident drew criticism on social media, with passengers questioning why railway employees, who are responsible for serving the public, should behave in such a manner and why they could not travel alongside ordinary commuters.

CR officials said an inquiry would be conducted, and disciplinary action would be taken against the employees concerned. “An estimated 60-70 passengers were travelling on the staff special local. We will be identifying them, and investigations will be carried out,” said a CR official.

Central Railway weighs opening staff special to public

Following the controversy, CR is also considering scrapping its staff special local train and making it available to all commuters. The train departs Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) daily at 3.48 pm towards Kalyan. It halts at Byculla, Parel and Matunga to pick up workshop employees before proceeding along the Fast line.

Officials said they were considering making the service available to general commuters and providing halts at all stations on the slow line between Matunga and Kalyan. The proposal is still under consideration.