Central Railway locals resume after 9 hours of disruption; youth killed crossing tracks at Bhandup

Central Railway's suburban service, regarded as the backbone of daily life in Mumbai, was hit by technical faults on Monday. Trains ran erratically from the morning, and commuters between Thane and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus faced severe hardship. After about nine hours of chaos, services slowly began returning to normal, but crowds at stations did not thin even by evening.

On Monday morning a fire broke out in a relay room linked to the signal system at Kanjurmarg. This disrupted signalling and affected rail traffic between Vikhroli and Bhandup. A technical fault also developed in the overhead wire between Mulund and Thane stations. Because of the two incidents, the schedules of long-distance trains, as well as locals, were thrown off.

Many locals ran late, and commuters were stranded for three to four hours. At some places, passengers got down onto the tracks after their train stopped and began walking out. Walking in the harsh sun angered commuters. Many used city buses, autorickshaws and cabs to reach their offices.

Amid the chaos, a tragic accident occurred at Bhandup railway station. Sahil Thite, 21, a resident of the Amar Nagar area of Mulund Colony, was crossing the tracks to board a local at platform number 3 when he was hit by a local and died. He was trying to get across from platform number 4 to the other platform. Commuters are both saddened and angry over the incident.

Because of the signal fault, trains arriving at Kalyan station ran about 1 to 1.5 hours late, and crowds built up there as well. Office-goers returning home in the evening had considerable trouble. With locals not arriving on time, many had to wait on platforms for a long time.

According to information given by the railway administration, signal repair work on 3 of Central Railway's 4 lines was completed and the lines were reopened by 6 pm. Repair work was still going on, however, on the slow line towards Mumbai. The railway administration is trying to restore smooth service.

Announcements at stations are keeping commuters informed about traffic and appealing for their cooperation. Work to fix the technical faults continues, but it is taking time for train schedules to return fully to normal. As a result, passengers faced difficulties even during the evening rush.