Mumbai: Train services on Kalyan-Kasara, Kalyan-Badlapur stretches restored

The Central Railways suburban train services on the KalyanBadlapur stretch in Thane district adjoining Mumbai were restored after seven hours on Wednesday officials said according to the PTIThe services on the KalyanKasara route were up and running after nearly three hours they said reported the PTIServices between Badlapur and Ambarnath were stopped at 1105 hours due to waterlogging which disrupted the movement of trains from Kalyan to Karjat Mumbai and Thane district received heavy downpours on WednesdayPoint failures between Kalyan and Kasara prompted railway officials to stop the services on the stretch at around 240 pmThe disruptions caused inconvenience to thousands of commuters Since trains crawled or stood still on tracks several commuters were seen walking on rail lines to reach the nearest stationThe news agency reported the AmbarnathBadlapur stretch which is part of the KalyanKarjat section was opened for traffic around 6 pm said Rajnish Kumar Goyal divisional manager of Central Railways Mumbai divisionHe said that the Down Karjatbound line was restored first followed by the Up line CSMTbound about half an hour laterGoyal said they had stopped the services as a precautionary measure as water was flowing 8 inches above the track level Trains are being operated at 10 kmph on UP and Down lines he saidThe official said they moved men and material to the spot to avoid any breach in the embankment as the water was fast moving and had current at some spotsMeanwhile Dr Shivraj Manaspure chief public relations officer of the Central Railway said the KalyanKasara section was restored at 1725 pm reported the PTIDue to heavy rains and subsequent waterlogging three railway track changing points failed on the north end of Kalyan forcing the railway to stop its operation Manaspure saidWaterlogged tracks and technical failures had prompted railway authorities to cancel several suburban services Trains were running 1030 minutes late on the main line and 1015 minutes on the Harbour lineCommuters complained bunching of trains due to which several of them jumped onto the tracks and walked to reach their desired destination or next stationThey also complained of heavy rush at stationsEarlier the Central Railway said it had diverted some mail and express trains via DivaPanvelKarjat route and DaundManmad route besides shortterminating and cancelling a few trains between Mumbai and PuneIn the morning train services on the PanvelBelapur Harbour Line route were affected due to a point failure at Panvel at 940 am They were restored by 10 am he saidThe Central Railway operates local train services on its Main Line from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT in south Mumbai to Kasara in Thane and Khopoli in Raigad districtIt also operates suburban services on the Harbour Line from CSMT to Panvel Raigad and Goregaon Mumbaiwith PTI inputs