Mumbai local services crippled as crowded, delayed trains leave commuters stranded for hours

Delays on Mumbai's local trains troubled commuters through the day. From Thane to Mulund, Nahur, Dadar and Borivali, people struggled with crowds and uncertainty. Several commuters described their experience.

Ahilya Vaidya, who travels from Thane to CSMT, said the 10.05 am train reached Thane station at about 10.45 am. She got to her destination at 1.30 pm. She said she thought several times of getting off, but did not dare.

Nilima Khurana, 38, from Ambernath, had to reach office by 12 noon, but more than two hours had passed and she had still not got there. She said everyone in Mumbai depends on the locals to get around, and such disruptions upset everyone's schedule. She said the situation was beyond her control, yet her boss shouted at her.

Sakshi Patil, 14, of Thane studies at Don Bosco School in Matunga. She had an exam today and does not think she will reach on time. Fortunately, the test is not a major one, so she can take it later.

Shefali Sahu, who works at the Bombay High Court, left office at about 5 pm. Conditions had still not returned to normal. After the bad experience in the morning, she did not want to take a risk. She travelled by the Aqua Line to Marol, changed to another metro line to reach Ghatkopar, and took an auto from Ghatkopar station to her home in Vikhroli. This way she did not have to spend a large sum on a cab and reached home safely.

Geeta Desai, 51, of Mulund, rarely travels by train. She said it was the first time in five or six months that she had taken a train, and it was the worst experience. She said the railways should do something about such situations.

Namya Prabhakar, who travels from Dadar to Thane, said the journey usually costs about Rs 600, but today she saw the fare at up to Rs 800. In her view, given the state of the trains, that is not unreasonable.

Vijaya Joshi, a college professor, said that after college she checked Google Maps and it showed 37 minutes from Borivali station to her home in Thane. Working it out, she took a fast train from Dadar to Borivali and then a bus to Thane. She reached home safely in under two hours. But she said this was possible only because it was not peak hours.

Rujita Dilip Dhaval, who boarded a Kalyan fast train to go to Nahur, said the crowd was so dense that it became hard to breathe. She pushed her way out of the train and was now wondering whether to take another train or book a private bus. Her work had ended at 6.30 pm, but she stayed on at the office to avoid the peak rush. By 7.10 pm conditions were slightly better than before, but still difficult.

A commuter bound for Karjat said he had been looking for a place to sit since reaching the station, but there was none, and he was sure there would be no space on the train either. Returning home had become extremely difficult because of the heavy crowds and long delays. A friend's brother had spent two hours on a CSMT to Thane train in the morning. The commuter said he had come prepared for a tiring journey, but after working all day, the toll on his body was very heavy.

It has also emerged that replacing the faulty equipment takes ten days.