Flooding disrupts services on central, harbour lines

Train commuters struggled to get to work on Monday as incessant showers flooded tracks and disrupted train services on the central and harbour lines.

Train commuters struggled to get to work on Monday as incessant showers flooded tracks and disrupted train services on the central and harbour lines.

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The most water-logged railway stations were Sion, Kurla, Chunabhatti and Kalyan.

Thane was cut off from Mumbai for nearly four hours, from 6.30am to 10.30am. The Central Railway cancelled 630 of 1,573 services. When services resumed, trains were running 30 minutes late. Trains from Karjat and Kasara were terminated at Kalyan and CST-bound trains from Thane were cancelled. Commuters complained that few announcements were made about the status of services.

Aadesh Bhagat, member of Mumbai Rail Upanagriya Pravasi Sangh, who was waiting at Diva Junction, said: “After 8am, commuters started returning home as only four crowded CST-bound trains came from Kalyan.”

The harbour line trains ran late by 45 minutes. Water-logging at Chunabhatti forced CR to terminate CST-bound services at Mankhurd; commuters were forced to go by road till Kurla.

Four coaches of a goods train derailed at Bhiwandi Road on the Vasai-Diva stretch. Around 7pm, a technical problem hit the trans-harbour line. The CR ran special trains at 15-minute gaps to aid commuters. “Heavy rain and overflowing Mithi river caused flooding at Kurla and Chunabhatti,” said Vidyadhar Malegaonkar, chief PRO, CR.

The western line saw 15-minute delays. Services improved after 1.30pm as water started receding.