Mumbai: Central Railway Local Train Services Disrupted Due To Technical Snag Near Thane

Suburban train services of the Central Railway faced major disruptions on Monday morning following a technical glitch on the Latur-CSMT Express. The incident caused widespread delays for commuters, particularly affecting the fast local services. Nearly a dozen services were cancelled and several got delayed.

According to sources, the Latur Express encountered a technical fault near Kalwa station at approximately 8.15am. The train was halted for around 20 minutes before it could proceed towards Thane station, causing a significant hold-up on the tracks. The delay led to a domino effect on the schedule of other trains, including the Nagpur-CSMT Duronto Express, which was also detained for 20 minutes.

An official from CR confirmed that the Latur Express was finally able to depart from Thane station at 8:51am after allowing precedence to all following trains. “This disruption caused the fast-track suburban services heading towards Mumbai to be delayed by around 30 minutes, significantly impacting the morning rush hour,” said an official.

However, sources said that cascading delays affected both fast and slow local train services, as some fast trains had to be diverted onto the slow corridor, further affecting commuter traffic of the slow corridor. Passengers expressed frustration over the delays, which disrupted their morning commute and led to overcrowded trains and stations.

Anil Sahani, 56, a frequent commuter on CR expressed his frustration, stating, “It seems that failures on CR have increased over the last few months. CR needs to review its operation plan.”

Similarly, Vimal Kant, 49, a commuter from Kalyan, shared his concerns: "Due to frequent disruptions on CR, passengers have been fed up for the past few months.”