Wednesday evening proved to be a harrowing experience for passengers relying on Central Railways main line suburban services, as a series of unfortunate events led to significant delays and frustration. Apart for Suburban trains, several main express trains including prestigious Mumbai CSMT - Nizamuddin Rajdhani express also got delayed.
"Rajdhani express was delayed for more than one hour. Apart from that around two dozen suburban local trains also got delayed for up to 10-20 minutes on Wednesday," said an official.
The troubles began between Khardi and Umbermali, where a tragic incident occurred around 5:20 pm involving a cattle run over. This halted a suburban train as well as long distance in the section . According to sources, due to cattle run over, rake of affected suburban train got damaged. Railway officials responded by pulling affected trains up to Kasara Yard with the assistance of additional engines, eventually clearing the route by 7:45 pm.
Adding to the chaos was a technical glitch near Ghatkopar, disrupting services during the evening rush hour. A Titwala-bound suburban train experienced difficulties ( technical glitch) around 6 pm, leading to its cancellation at Thane and exacerbating the already strained situation. Despite efforts to restore normalcy by 6:20 pm, the cascading effects of both incidents caused nearly two dozen suburban trains to be delayed by up to 20 minutes.
While Central Railway assured passengers that only a few services were delayed by up to 15 minutes, reports from commuters painted a starkly different picture. Overcrowding and chaos ensued at stations along the main line, as the majority of suburban services fell behind schedule.
"The combination of the cattle run over and technical malfunction created a perfect storm of disruptions, testing the patience of commuters and highlighting the vulnerabilities of the suburban rail network," lamented a frequent commuter.
In response to the situation, the divisional railway manager of Central Railways Mumbai division posted a statement expressing regret for the inconvenience caused and assuring passengers that the issues had been resolved.
