Heavy Rains Paralyse Mumbai's Rail Network As Waterlogging, Landslides And OHE Failures Trigger Mass Cancellations

Mumbai: Heavy monsoon rain brought Mumbai's rail network under severe stress on Monday, disrupting both suburban and long-distance train services across the Western and Central Railway. Waterlogging on the Western Railway's Vasai-Dahanu section, landslides in the Karjat-Lonavala ghat section, a ballast washout on the Karjat-Khopoli route, overhead equipment (OHE) failures and falling trees led to widespread cancellations, diversions and delays, affecting thousands of commuters and passengers travelling across Maharashtra.

100 Local Trains Cancelled, 120 Delayed by Monday Evening

Relentless rain caused waterlogging on the Western Railway tracks between Vasai and Virar, bringing suburban train movement to a halt from around 9.04 am. Limited services towards Vasai resumed around 11 am after water levels receded, but operations remained disrupted for the rest of the day. By 7 pm, Western Railway had cancelled around 100 suburban services, while nearly 120 trains were delayed. Long-distance operations were hit even harder as flooding between Vasai and Dahanu forced the cancellation of 16 trains, short termination of 15, short origination of 16, rescheduling of 26 and diversion of 13 services. Commuters faced long waits during the Monday morning rush hour. "It took me almost three hours to reach Churchgate from Virar. Today was the start of the week and I had an important office meeting," said commuter Shruti More.

Landslides Near Thakurwadi and Khandala Hit Central Railway

On the Central Railway, heavy rainfall triggered multiple incidents across the network. A landslide near Thakurwadi around 2 am affected all three railway lines in the Karjat-Lonavala ghat section, while another landslide between Monkey Hill and Khandala on the middle line at around 3.05 am forced the suspension of train services on the busy Mumbai-Pune route. Continuous rain also caused a ballast washout between Lowjee and Dolavli on the Karjat-Khopoli section, resulting in the suspension of suburban services for nearly 12 hours. The section was partially restored on Monday evening after engineers declared one track safe, with the first train permitted at 10 kmph before speed was increased to 30 kmph. Train movement between Karjat and Lonavala, however, remained suspended as restoration work continued in the ghat section.

Besides the weather-related damage, railway operations were briefly disrupted after plastic sheets became entangled in the overhead equipment near Vikhroli and Bhandup, while tree-related incidents near Khandala and GTB Nagar also affected train movement. Railway staff cleared the obstructions and restored power supply, but delays continued through the day. Central Railway cancelled 17 long-distance trains, diverted 31, short terminated 18, short originated 15 and rescheduled four services due to the landslides. Several key Mumbai-Pune trains, including the Indrayani Express, Deccan Queen, Deccan Express, Pragati Express, Intercity Express and Sinhagad Express, were cancelled. Around 80 to 90 suburban services were also cancelled on the Central Railway network.

WR Assures Passenger Safety, Teams Working Round the Clock

Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said passenger safety remained the top priority. "Passenger safety is our highest priority. Keeping this in mind, our teams are making every possible effort to restore train services at the earliest. However, waterlogging continues to persist at several locations, and operations will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. We are working round the clock to ensure that inconvenience to passengers is minimised," he said.

Central Railway officials said teams have been deployed at multiple locations to clear debris, repair damaged tracks and restore services. According to a Central Railway official, a total of 200 labourers are deployed in the ghat section for restoration work, and another 200 labourers are being mobilised to speed up operations. Helplines have also been set up at major stations, including CSMT, Thane, Lonavala and Dadar, to provide passengers with real-time updates.

The first suburban train, 12952, departed from Virar at 20:15 hrs on Monday evening after partial restoration of services. With heavy rainfall continuing across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the ghat section, railway authorities have advised passengers to check the latest train status before starting their journey. The day's disruptions once again highlighted the vulnerability of Mumbai's rail network to extreme monsoon conditions and the challenges of maintaining uninterrupted operations during periods of intense rainfall.

To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/