Mumbai rains: Waterlogging in tracks slows down train movement

The lifeline of Mumbai—suburban trains—was badly hit due to heavy rain that lashed the city and suburbs since early Tuesday morning.

The movement of local trains slowed down due to water logging in the tracks at various locations, besides technical problems. According to commuters, waterlogging was seen at tracks Thane, Kanjur Marg, Sion, Chunabhatti, Nalasopara and other locations.

Railway administration, however, claimed that the water level is at a safe level and therefore trains running with some delay. “Water level is below rail level,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief spokesperson of CR. He added that the trains are running 10-12 minutes delay due to heavy rain and poor visibility.

Central Railways’ main line and Harbour line services are running at least 20-30 minutes late though train services has not completely stopped. Even WR services between Vasai-Virar were affected due to rain, running 15-20 minutes late.

“Generally it takes 25-30 minutes to reach Dadar from Thane station. But it took nearly 40 minutes and train halted for long time at two places,” said Ashish Raje, a Thane resident.

Western Railways claimed that the delay is due to track failure at Virar. “Slow trains in down direction towards Virar will be running between Churchgate to Vasai station. All remaining trains are running late by 15-20 minute,” reads a tweet by Western Railways.

Suburban locals on all four corridors of Central and Western railways are considered a lifeline of Mumbai. Everyday around 35 lakh passengers on WR and 40 lakh on CR are dependent on suburban locals.

First Published: Sep 04, 2019 11:08 IST