Navi Mumbai: Commuters face tough time, opt for alternate modes after Belapur-Kharkopar local train derails

Commuters had a tough time on Tuesday morning after three coaches of the Belapur-Kharkopar local train derailed a little before Kharkopar station. The train service on this route was affected and commuters had to take another mode of transportation to reach their offices.

At present, service on Belapur-Nerul-Kharkopar has a limited number of services, and morning services are important for officer goers. However, on Tuesday morning, many of the office goers have to look for buses and auto-rickshaws.

The majority of the office goers change their trains at Belapur station for their further destinations.

Commuters switch to bus after train derails

Rubina Shaikh who works at Mhape and travels upto Ghansoli station by train had to take a bus to Nerul from the Ulwe node. “I take the 8.55 am Belapur local from Kharkopar that connects me with the 9.16 am Panve-Thane train at Belapur. I reach my office on time with this combination of trains,” said Shaikh, adding that after noticing that the train entering Kharkopar station derailed, I rushed to take the bus. “Unfortunately, there was no bus at that time,” said Shaikh.

Office-goers wait for auto-rikshaws

There are two stations—Bamandongri and Kharkopar—in the Ulwe node. While commuters at Kharkopar station saw the train derailed, many of the commuters kept waiting at Bamandongri stations. Amol Patil, who resides at sector 19 in Ulwe took an auto-rickshaw for Nerul after waiting almost half an hour at Bamandongri station. “I came to know after photos of a train derailment were shared on WhatsApp,” said Patil.

However, those who had to go to Mumbai were worried as they were likely to be delayed. Manish Tiwari, a resident of sector 17 in Ulwe said that he would miss the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus train from Belapur and he would delay for the office.