Mumbai’s scorching October heat disrupted suburban train operations on Tuesday, prompting Central Railway (CR) to impose a distress block near Byculla. The disruption affected eight local services, with five trains delayed and three diverted, causing inconvenience to commuters.
40-Minute Distress Block
The distress block was taken near Byculla and lasted around 40–45 minutes, according to CR. It was imposed on the Up and Down lines one at a time and not simultaneously across all four lines. The emergency measure was taken after the rise in temperature affected railway infrastructure.
“The distress block was taken near Byculla and lasted for around 40–45 minutes. It was taken on the Up and Down lines one at a time, and not simultaneously on all four lines,” said Dr Swapnil Nila, CPRO, Central Railway.
Heat Affects Cuts And Joints
Explaining how heat affects railway infrastructure, Nila said the impact is mainly felt at locations where there are cuts or joints. “The temperature tolerance varies depending on the local connections and conditions at each location, so it is not uniform across the entire section,” he said.
The disruption comes amid unusually high temperatures recorded in Mumbai over the past few days. On Tuesday, the Colaba observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 32.5°C, 0.6°C above normal, while the minimum temperature was 28°C, 2.7°C above normal.
On October 5, the maximum temperature was around 35°C, while the minimum remained around 28°C. On Sunday, October 4, the Santacruz observatory recorded 37.6°C, five degrees above normal. Colaba recorded 36.5°C, 4.6 degrees above normal.
Railway infrastructure can experience thermal expansion as temperatures rise, particularly at vulnerable points such as cuts and joints. Railway authorities may impose temporary blocks to inspect or attend to such locations and prevent any safety risk. The incident highlights how extreme weather conditions can directly affect Mumbai’s suburban railway network, on which lakhs of commuters depend every day.
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