Mumbai commuters faced severe inconvenience on Friday morning after a goods train engine broke down between Badlapur and Vangani stations, throwing Central Railway services into chaos. The breakdown, which occurred during peak rush hours, disrupted train schedules and caused significant delays for thousands of office-goers. As the freight train remained stranded on the track, local train movement toward Mumbai (on the Up line) was badly affected, forcing passengers to wait for long hours at stations and inside halted trains. The incident led to widespread frustration and chaos during the morning commute.
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According to officials, local trains running from Kalyan to CSMT were delayed by nearly 20 minutes, while those traveling from CSMT to Kalyan and Panvel were running about 10 minutes late. The disruption led to trains being held up between stations, with no clear update on when normal services would resume. Stranded commuters were seen walking along the tracks to reach nearby stations after waiting in vain. The prolonged delays sparked anger and disappointment among passengers, who expressed frustration over the frequent technical issues affecting the Central Railway network.
The situation was particularly stressful as the incident occurred on a Friday morning, when many employees and workers were looking forward to finishing their work early and starting the weekend. The disruption has not only delayed commuters but also impacted office attendance, with several people expected to receive ‘late marks’. Central Railway authorities have begun efforts to remove the faulty freight train engine and restore services. However, officials indicated that it may take a few more hours before train operations return to normal across the affected routes.