Central Railway locals run 1-2 hours late; man, 21, killed by AC local at Bhandup

Central Railway's suburban services were badly disrupted this morning. A fault developed in the overhead wire, and technical problems arose in the signal system. A man also died in an accident at Bhandup railway station, adding to the hardship of Mumbai's commuters.

The accident took place at Bhandup station. A young man was crossing the railway tracks from platform number 3 when an AC local train struck him. The train was headed from Mumbai towards Kalyan via Thane. The deceased has been identified as Sahil Thite, 21. The incident has left people saddened.

Railway police and officials reached the spot soon after being informed. Efforts are on to confirm the identity of the deceased and to contact his family.

On the disruption to services: on the first day of the week, at 9.23 am, a fault was seen in the overhead equipment wire on the down slow line between Mulund and Thane stations, affecting rail traffic. Power supply was switched off at about 10 am for repairs, and work began to remove the tangled wires. The fault also affected the timetable of locals coming towards Mumbai.

Along with the wire fault, technical problems were reported in the signal system at Kanjurmarg station and between Vikhroli and Bhandup. This affected the running of local trains. Some locals were running 15 to 60 minutes late. Some reports said the delays left passengers stranded for one to two hours. With trains held up, some passengers were seen walking on the railway tracks between Mulund and Nahur.

The railway administration has taken up repair work to fix the overhead wire and signal problems. However, because the faults are at several places, it is taking time for services to return to normal. Office-goers, students and other commuters are badly affected by the delays.