Mumbai: Stranded commuters forced to walk on tracks for hours

From traffic snarls to walking on the railway tracks and remaining stranded without food or water for a few hours, the Central Railway commuters had a harrowing time, with services coming to a halt on Friday.

From traffic snarls to walking on the railway tracks and remaining stranded without food or water for a few hours, the Central Railway (CR) commuters had a harrowing time, with services coming to a halt on Friday.

Nandu Vayal, 33, a resident of Shahad who took the 8.08am CST-bound local from Shahad railway station, had to walk for almost two hours to reach Kalyan. “The train came to a halt at Kopar. I had no choice but to walk on the tracks. I reached Kalyan station, after walking for almost 2 hours. From there, none of the auto drivers were ready to ply to Shahad. So, I had to wait for a few more hours to reach Shahad,” he said.

Various parts of the city and neighbouring suburbs such as Kalyan and Dombivli witnessed traffic snarls for hours. In Kalyan and Dombivli, more than 50 traffic personnel, including one assistant commissioner of police, three inspectors, three assistant police inspectors, three sub-inspectors, were deployed to handle the situation. Dilip Suryavanshi, senior inspector, Kalyan west traffic police, said, “We tried our best to help the stranded commuters.”

With the commuters struggling to reach home or office at the earliest, several autorickshaw drivers used the opportunity to overcharge. “I asked an auto driver to take me to Thane from Kalyan. He asked for Rs500,” said Sanjay Patkar, 45.

“We had planned to take a taxi to go to Mulund from Kalyan, but as the auto drivers refused to ply, we had to ask our relatives to send a vehicle from Mulund. Our train, which was to reach Kalyan station at 5am, reached at 1pm,” said Vikas Jain, 39.