Mumbai’s suburban rail network, often called the lifeline of the city, continues to face disruptions on the third day, Wednesday, August 20. Services on all three lines, Central, Western, and Harbour, are running late due to rainfall, which hampered visibility and waterlogging on tracks, forcing the motorman to run the train at a precautionary speed.
Western Line
Seventeen trains on the up and down lines of Western Railway were cancelled between 3:40 am and 5:31 am due to waterlogging on the tracks. These included six trains bound for Churchgate and four for Virar. At present, local services on the Western line are running with delays of 10 to 15 minutes.
Central and Harbour Lines
Central Railway services remain the worst affected, and they are still not fully restored after two days of disruptions. Trains are running 20 to 25 minutes late, and on the Harbour line, services are delayed by 15 to 20 minutes.
Also Read | Mumbai Local Train Update: Multiple Services Cancelled On Western Line Today Morning Due to Waterlogging.
Heavy rains have lashed the city for the past two days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai until 10 am and an orange alert for midnight today. Heavy rainfall has been recorded in the last 24 hours, and red alerts are in place for Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has been under a red alert for the past 48 hours, accompanied by heavy downpours. Extremely heavy rainfall has also been predicted for the next three hours.
Mumbai suburbs have been receiving rain since last night. A warning of heavy rainfall has been issued in some parts of the city, while moderate to heavy showers are expected until the afternoon. The continuous downpour over the last two days has badly affected local train services. Even on the third day, the city’s lifeline has not been fully restored, although the intensity of rain has slightly reduced today.