Mumbai local trains delayed due to smog, rail roko protest

Local trains arriving from Kasara were delayed by upto 40 minutes and those arriving from Kalyan for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) were delayed by 15 minutes.

Regular travellers had a tough time reaching their destinations on Saturday as central railway (CR) local train services were delayed in the morning peak hours, due to fog and a rail roko agitation by commuters at Vasind.

Smog on the central railway line in Mumbai caused delays and left regular travellers hassled on Saturday. (HT File)

Local trains arriving from Kasara were delayed by upto 40 minutes and those arriving from Kalyan for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) were delayed by 15 minutes. “There was fog in Kalyan south east, Kasara and Karjat side. Due to low visibility, trains were delayed by 40 minutes.” said a central railway officer.

Smog on the harbour line resulted in a 15-minute delay in the train services in the morning, he added.

Due to the morning delay, local trains on the central line were also running late by 15 minutes in the afternoon.

Nearly 100-150 commuters staged a rail roko agitation at Vasind. Rajesh Ghanghav of Kalyan-Kasara-Karjat Railway Pravasi Sangathan said, “Commuters blocked railway tracks as four outstation trains were given preference over suburban trains.” He also alleged that railway officials behaved rudely with commuters.

Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR, appealed to commuters to not resort to unlawful means such as rail roko as it would cause further delay