Delays go on, CR says Thane yard work to improve services

For the 9th consecutive day, suburban commuters on Central Railway (CR) were inconvenienced owing to disruption of services, even as CR authorities claimed that the Thane yard remodelling work—responsible for the daily chaos since December 28 — would save 5 to 7 minutes of travelling time for the commuters, Kailash Korde reports.

For the 9th consecutive day, suburban commuters on Central Railway (CR) were inconvenienced owing to disruption of services, even as CR authorities claimed that the Thane yard remodelling work—responsible for the daily chaos since December 28 — would save 5 to 7 minutes of travelling time for the commuters.

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On Friday, a rail fracture between Ambiwali and Titwala stations on the CST-bound track at around 6 am resulted in delays of about 20 minutes during morning peak hours. Although authorities claimed that the fault was rectified in 45 minutes, suburban services were affected till noon.

CR authorities maintained that the disruptions were temporary and said the remodelling work, along with other projects, will improve CR services and reduce travel time for commuters. (See graphic for details).

“The Thane yard remodelling, and the DC-AC conversation will be completed by month-end. It will save at least five to seven minutes of travel time in the Mulund-Kalyan section,” said V Malegaonkar, CPRO, CR.

Even as chaos continued on Friday, the situation showed signs of returning to normalcy. Sources said that on Friday, owing to the rail fracture, services were running with restricted speed till it was rectified. However, the cascading effect resulted in delays in the suburban timetable and overcrowding of trains.

“Even though two long megablocks were enforced for the Thane yard remodelling, work is yet to finish and services are disrupted every morning. The CR should not test the patience of passengers,” said Sadanand Kadam, Dombivli resident.

With the impending visit of Vinay Mittal, chairman of the railway board, for the periodical review of CR and WR, sources said CR officials would have a lot of explaining to for the ongoing mess.