Mumbai: On the second consecutive day, the Central Railway operated three unscheduled ‘destressing blocks’ on Harbour and Central lines, lasting 30 minutes each.
On the Harbour line, the block was between Kings Circle-Mahim from 12.45pm to 13.15pm, while on the Main line, the block was between Kings Circle-Mahim from 11.50am to 12.30pm and between Ulhasnagar-Vithalwadi from12.55pm to 13.25pm. As a result, CR services were delayed by 15-20 minutes. “An urgent maintenance block was undertaken. We had to destress the tracks on the said sections. When the tracks are exposed to extreme heat, the metal tends to expand.
Then, they need to be destressed. Otherwise, it can lead to derailment,” said a CR official. During the block, the officials inspected the tracks and their health. A single track runs for several metres, it’s connected by another one after a short distance.
Senior railway official said engineers may take such blocks for maintenance during the rise in temperature. “Instructions conveyed that henceforth such information should be given immediately to PR dept so the media and public are informed in advance,” said the official.
Dadar station window slab collapses: A slab of officer guest house of the Western Railway collapsed during peak hours on Dadar station platform no 1. However, no injury was reported. Senior official said the guest house is under departmental maintenance. “The incident took place at 6.15pm when a slab of window fell on platform 1 of the Dadar station. But it did not affect the train movement,” said a WR official.