Mumbai: Signal break throws morning rush hour out of gear on Central Railway

The 48-minute disruption forced commuters to jump off the train and walk to the station

Suburban services on the Central Railway (CR) collapsed on Thursday morning with a 48-minute signal disruption at Vikhroli detaining and delaying crowded trains and forcing commuters to deboard midway and walk along the tracks to reach the nearest station.

While a CR spokesperson said that services were affected due to a signal failure between 7 am and 7.48 am, the divisional railway manager said the issue was resolved at 8.05 am. “Every day, there is some problem or another on CR. It would be God’s grace if we reached the office one day on time. It is high time the suburban services improve,” a commuter, Avkash Rane, said.

Passengers deboard to get to the nearest station. PIC/MUMBAI TRAIN UPDATES

“There was a problem of no proper announcements. Moreover, trains are jam-packed with no space to move and if such a packed train halts for a long time, the motorman should at least announce so that commuters are aware. Those stranded in trains are left clueless. Why do we have such a communication problem in a city like Mumbai in the 21st century,” Aravind Sekar, another commuter said.

Railway officials said the technical problem occurred around 7 am on the UP (CSMT-bound) fast line, resulting in local trains being delayed and detained for approximately an hour. The social media handle of the divisional railway manager of Central Railway’s Mumbai division later mentioned, “Due to some technical faults at UP through line near Vikhroli station, local trains are held up, hence some locals are running behind schedule time.” It later added that the issue was resolved at 8.05 am. 

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