Mumbai Local: Western Railway Services Hit After OHE Faults Delay Trains Between Churchgate and Virar

Mumbai: Western Railway trains between Churchgate and Virar are running 10–15 minutes behind schedule on Friday due to an Overhead Equipment (OHE) failure reported early in the morning between Dadar and Churchgate.

Multiple technical failures reported

Another OHE failure was reported between Churchgate and Mumbai Central. Separately, a point failure was also reported at Churchgate at around 8 am.

As a result of the technical failures, several suburban services on the Churchgate–Virar route were reported to be delayed.

However, as Muharram is being observed across the city and it is a public holiday, the delays had a relatively limited impact on commuters compared to a regular working day.

Marshals to improve punctuality

Meanwhile, in a separate development, following frequent delays in suburban train services, Western Railway has decided to deploy marshals at select high-footfall stations during peak hours to ensure the timely closing of automatic doors in air-conditioned (AC) local trains.

The decision comes after AC local trains on the Western Railway network were found to be operating beyond their intended passenger capacity during peak hours, which officials believe has become one of the major reasons for the recent decline in punctuality.

According to recent data released by Western Railway, of the 1,414 suburban services operated on June 23, as many as 1,404 trains were delayed. While 269 services were delayed by one to three minutes and 349 by four to five minutes, 78 trains were delayed by more than five minutes, including one service that ran more than 30 minutes late.

Passenger load under scrutiny

The frequent delays have affected nearly 30–32 lakh passengers who rely on Western Railway for their daily commute.

A senior Western Railway official stated that the AC local trains, introduced to provide a more comfortable travel experience, are now carrying passenger loads far beyond their intended capacity during office hours.

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