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Central Railway's suburban services were severely disrupted on Monday following a dual setback involving a signal failure at Kalyan in the morning and subsequent engine failures on the LTT - Mau express in the afternoon.
The day started with a critical signal failure at Kalyan station during the peak morning hours. Several commuters were left stranded as trains struggled to maintain schedules amid the technical outage.
The disruption ( signal failure), which occurred around 7:30 am due to water logging, impacted trains on platform numbers one and one-A. Central Railway officials promptly addressed the issue, restoring normal operations by 8:40 am. Initially affecting four trains originating from Kalyan, the incident resulted in widespread delays across the network, affecting numerous other train services during peak hours.
Later in the afternoon, another setback hit the Central Railway route when the engine of the LTT-Mau Express failed between Dombivli and Thakurli stations at 2:15 pm. The incident, occurring shortly after departure from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), caused significant delays affecting several other train services, including the prestigious CSMT-Jalna Vande Bharat Express and two suburban services. This breakdown, occurring within the first 35 kilometers of travel, has raised concerns regarding the maintenance protocols and operational reliability of Central Railway.
Passengers faced prolonged wait times and inconvenience throughout the day, prompting railway authorities to expedite efforts to restore normalcy across affected routes. Urging Central Railway to reassess maintenance practices to ensure uninterrupted service reliability, especially during adverse weather conditions a frequent commuter said, "The consecutive failures on Monday have sparked discussions about the frequency and severity of technical disruptions".
"This series of incidents serves as a reminder of the infrastructure vulnerabilities and operational challenges faced by the railway network, particularly during the monsoon season, demanding proactive measures from railway authorities to safeguard commuter interests" said another commuter .
