Derailment, rain & drowned tracks: It's a nightmare for rail commuters

MUMBAI: What began with a major derailment of Duronto Express early morning ended with torrential rain and waterlogging throughout the afternoon — throwing the entire Mumbai railway machinery out of gear.

Train services, considered to be the ‘lifeline’ for city’s seven million daily commuters on both Western and Central Railway, were completely paralysed.

Hundreds were stranded with no alternate mode of transport — such as autos and taxis —outside most stations. It was a day of misery, apassenger recalled. The derailment of Duronto near Asangaon around 6.30 am led to suspension of services between Kalyan and Kasara, affecting regular officegoers from the far-flung suburbs. Trains between Kalyan and CST too ran more than 30 minutes late. The delays only worsened as the day progressed, with commuters travelling in peak hours complaining they reached office in two hours when the normal time should have been 50 minutes.

By 12.20 pm, when the city witnessed huge rainfall resulting in heavy waterlogging at several stations, CR officials had no option but to suspend services on both Harbour and Main lines.

Due to waterlogging on several stretches between

Kurla

and Parel stations, passengers were stranded in trains for more than two hours. Those who jumped from the trains had to wade through ankle-deep water. The situation was similar at King’s Circle and Wadala stations where tracks were submerged.

WR trains ran smoothly in the morning, but by noon, tracks near

Bandra

station were waterlogged and this led to suspension of services. Soon after it was restored, officials learnt there was another case of waterlogging on tracks at

Dadar

and

Elphinstone Road

, which had witnessed more rain. Services continued to be affected till evening.

Long-distance trains hit too

Long-distance train services were also badly hit and there were delays on both WR and CR:

Some long-distance trains arriving via Nashik and Nagpur had to take a detour due to derailment of Duronto Express near Asangaon

Trains leaving Mumbai were also diverted through KalyanPune-Manmad route Some cancelled trains were:

LTT-Varanasi Kamayani Ex 12071Dadar-Jalna Janshatabdi Express

12117 LTT-Manmad Express

11401 CSMT-Nagpur Nandigram Express via Nanded

12109 CSMT-Manmad Panchvati Express 12289 CSMT-Nagpur Duranto Express


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