Mumbai: Suburban train services partially hit due to non-completion of rail works

On Thursday morning, Central Railway suspended local train services on the Trans-harbour line connecting Belapur and Panvel stations near Mumbai. This decision came after the scheduled maintenance work during the night block could not be completed on time.

Trains not to run between Belapur (Navi Mumbai) and Panvel (Raigad) till 11 am on Thursday (on the Trans-harbour line) to avoid bunching of trains, the Central Railway (CR) said. To prevent train bunching, trains on the Trans-Harbour line between Belapur (Navi Mumbai) and Panvel (Raigad) won't run till 11 am on Thursday, according to the Central Railway (CR).

CR’s chief public relations officer Dr Shivraj Manaspure confirmed that suburban services on the Trans-harbour line were suspended between Belapur-Panvel due to a block burst (non-completion of scheduled work during block period). Trans-harbour locals will not run between Belapur and Panvel till 11 am today to avoid bunching at Panvel in view of some ongoing speed restrictions at Panvel due to yard remodelling work, he said.

Central Railway is operating a five-day-long midnight block starting from 3 am to 5.30 am, starting from the intervening night of October 2 and 3, for post-commissioning work at Panvel EMU stabling sidings that are used for parking empty trains after running services. This is the second time in less than a week that commuters are facing inconvenience due to block bursts. Many of them were forced to travel by the Harbour line trains, which they said were also running late by 15 to 20 minutes. John Lee, a commuter, claimed a number of people lose their money after reaching late for work. Who will bear the cost? he asked.

On its suburban network, Central Railway ferries about 35 lakh commuters each day between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kasara, Thane, and Khopoli, Raigad district, as well as between CSMT and Goregaon, Panvel, and Thane-Vashi, Panvel, and Belapur, Seawoods, and Kharkopar, on its main line.