Commuters using Harbour line were inconvenienced for the second consecutive Sunday due to a mega-block taken between Nerul and Mankhurd cutting off connection to the city. Commuters became agitated and demanded that the railway make some other arrangements on Sundays as there is no way to come to the city or head toward Panvel during this period.
Prakash Subramanian, a 25-year-old sports executive, said, “An important project is on and I have been going to office every Sunday and as a result I end up taking a cab and spending Rs 500 to come to my office in Worli. Last week they kept trains from Panvel to Kurla on but there was so much rush that I gave up at Nerul station and caught a cab. Now they have again sealed us off from the city. The other alternative is the BEST bus or the state transport buses that are overcrowded or in worse condition,” he said.
Many other commuters like Deepti Khera (28), a resident of Kharghar and a social worker, asked how it is that the Harbour line is completely cut-off. “If you have observed if CR takes a block on the mainline, they provide the commuters with another alternative. They divert the train but somehow they see to it that people living on the mainline have an option. Why has CR not given us an option ” she asked.
Railway officials said they had refused the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) a second block of seven-hours as HL was delayed by one-hour last on October 25.
