Mumbai: Central Railway has stepped up restoration work in the landslide-hit Karjat–Lonavala Ghat section, with more than 1,100 workers deployed round the clock to restore damaged tracks and secure the vulnerable hillside. One of the three railway lines was reopened late on Tuesday after emergency repairs, while work is continuing at full pace on the remaining two lines. The restoration follows the July 6 landslide that badly damaged the busy ghat section, disrupting train services between Mumbai and Pune and affecting thousands of passengers.
The restoration covers all three tracks across the 27-km Lonavala–Karjat Ghat section, involving repair and safety work over a total of 81 km. The worst-hit stretch is the 12-km section between Thakurwadi and Khandala, where repeated landslides and soil erosion weakened the railway formation. To prevent further damage, engineers are constructing gabion retaining walls on the valley side, carrying out large-scale earth filling, reinstalling damaged rockfall fencing and using rock bolting to stabilise vulnerable rock faces.
Heavy machinery, including Poclain excavators, JCBs, ballast rakes, track machines and a boulder special train, has been pressed into service. Special labour trains are also transporting workers to the site, while senior railway officials are monitoring the work.
The middle line was reopened at 10.30 pm on July 7 under a 30 kmph speed restriction, allowing the first trains to pass through the section during the night. However, normal services are yet to resume. Daily trains such as the Deccan Queen, Sinhagad Express, Pragati Express, Indrayani Express and the Pune–CSMT Intercity Express remain suspended, forcing commuters, students and business travellers to depend on alternative trains or road transport. Railway officials said efforts are on to restore the remaining two lines at the earliest while ensuring long-term safety of the ghat section.
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