Mumbai: A piece of cloth hanging from an overhead equipment (OHE) wire at Sewri railway station disrupted Harbour line services on Saturday morning, delaying local trains by up to 25 minutes and adding to commuters' difficulties after a week of repeated disruptions on Central Railway's suburban network.
Sewri OHE Obstruction Affects CSMT-Bound Services For Nearly 30 Minutes
The incident occurred around 9.44 am at platform 2, where the cloth was found hanging above the OHE wire. The obstruction affected up-line services towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), leading to bunching of trains. Railway staff removed the object and normal operations were restored by 10.13 am.
Among those affected was vashi-based commuter Nagmani, who was travelling to Sandhurst road for a meeting that he missed. "The train stopped abruptly a little ahead of Vadala Road railway station for nearly 25 minutes, prompting many people to walk on the tracks," he said. Ahmed chose to remain inside the train as he still had five kilometres to cover.
Scaffolding Collapse Damages OHE Inside Kalwa Carshed
In a separate incident, scaffolding collapsed on a train inside Central Railway's Kalwa carshed, damaging the OHE. Railway officials said train services were unaffected as the incident occurred within the carshed.
Saturday's disruption came days after a suspected fire in the signal relaying room at Kanjurmarg on Monday led to the cancellation of 70 local and 15 mail and express trains. Services were delayed by up to 90 minutes, while reduced frequency caused overcrowding at stations. Three commuters also died in separate alleged trespassing incidents at Bhandup and between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli.
Although services were restored, delays of 15-20 minutes continued on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a goods truck taking longer than expected to cross the level crossing at Tilak Nagar held up a CSMT-bound local for nearly 20 minutes, triggering further delays of up to an hour on the Harbour line.
Meanwhile, representatives of railway passenger associations met Divisional Railway Manager Hiresh Mina and Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Rahul Raj on Saturday, seeking measures to prevent a repeat of Monday's disruption. The memorandum submitted by Lata Argade, president of the Suburban Railway Passengers' Federation, included demands for ordinary passengers to be allowed on railway staff trains and shuttle services between Thane and Kalyan/Kasara.
With Central Railway's suburban network carrying over 40 lakh passengers daily, repeated disruptions have raised concerns over operational reliability and the impact on commuters' daily journeys.
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