WR to carry 21-hour mega block; 299 trains cancelled

Railway authorities on Friday announced the block which will be in place from 10.30pm on Saturday to 7.30pm on Sunday on slow lines, while the down fast line will be affected on Sunday from 1am to 4.30am

Mumbai: Commuters on Western Railway’s suburban network are set to face major disruption this weekend, with 299 local train services cancelled on account of a 21-hour mega block for infrastructure upgrades between Kandivali and Borivali.

MumbaiÖ 28January 2011..News...15 coach local train service by western railway started from churchgate railway station to virar and vasai on friday - HT photo by Hemant Padalkar (HIndustan Times)

Railway authorities on Friday announced the block which will be in place from 10.30pm on Saturday to 7.30pm on Sunday on slow lines, while the down fast line will be affected on Sunday from 1am to 4.30am.

Railway officials said 45 trains will be cancelled on Saturday and 254 on Sunday. Several services will be short-terminated at Andheri and Goregaon, while Borivali platforms 1 and 2 will not be operational.

The work includes strengthening Bridge 61 over a nullah and launching PSC slabs on Bridge 56-A between Malad and Kandivali.Officials said 25 additional services will be run to reduce inconvenience.

“We will use a shadow block to finish some more pending works such as Harbour line extension and launching of girders at Kandivali station,” said an officer from Western Railway.

During the period, trains will be diverted to other lines between Goregaon and Borivali, resulting in no halts at Ram Mandir, Malad and Kandivali stations for down (Virar-bound) services. Additionally, all 15-car slow services will run as fast trains between Andheri and Borivali.