It’s become a cliché to talk about Mumbai’s dependence on the suburban railway system and its importance in making the city the country’s commercial capital.u00a0

On Wednesday and Thursday, it became even more evident why this is so. Hundreds of thousands of commuters on the Central Line were stranded because of a fire in Kurla which affected the crucial signaling system. This happened just after midnight in the early hours of Wednesday. The Central Railway (CR), however, did not inform passengers (who pay for their tickets) who thus had no idea about what was happening until media reporters reached the spot and told them.