Central Railway’s commuters take to tracks after glitch for 30 minutes

MUMBAI: Commuters travelling in CSMT-bound slow trains were stranded on tracks in between stations for 20-30 minutes on Wednesday. Suburban services on Central Railway’s main line were affected due to point failures on the Up and Down slow corridor at the onset of evening peak hours. A CR spokesperson said, “The failure occurred between 4.10pm-4.41pm because of which slow services were affected.” Points are locations where the signalling system helps train to switch tracks.

Many passengers, including women, jumped onto tracks, risking their lives. They walked to Sion or Matunga stations, from where many commuters spilled onto roads to catch buses and taxis to their destinations.

“I have an important appointment for delivery of a consignment but due to the train delay, I will miss the crucial appointment,” said a Masjid businessman, who refused to jump onto the tracks, and waited till services resumed.

Sanjay Gada, a traveller, said, “It was chaotic at Vidyavihar station, which has a huge student population, as it is a hub of educational institutes. There is a single platform here and both cater to only slow trains which were mainly hit.” He said the station was packed with passengers and it was unbearable waiting for a train in the sultry weather.

A commuter said he jumped onto the tracks and reached the next station, when he heard announcements of slow trains being diverted to fast tracks. “I went to the fast track platform and was lucky to get a train to my destination,” he said. Another who alighted at Dadar to take the road route to CSMT got stuck in traffic. “I presumed changing to the road route would make my journey faster, but this did not happen,” he said. Refusals were rampant among taximen at Sion, a commuter said.