Central Railway (CR) services were affected on Friday during the evening peak hour as a result of a rail fracture between Dadar and Matunga station on the fast line.
Central Railway (CR) services were affected on Friday during the evening peak hour as a result of a rail fracture between Dadar and Matunga station on the fast line. The timetable of the CR collapsed completely around 6.30 pm when commuters were rushing back home, causing a 20-minute delay. Commuters were stranded at every station between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Matunga.
Many commuters, who were struggling to find a train during the peak hour, said that Railways had still not learnt its lesson.
The rail fracture occurred at 6.10 pm and was rectified by 7.55 pm and, as a result, five local trains were cancelled, including three local trains that were bound for Thane and two that were bound for Kurla.
The Railways immediately undertook repair works on the fast track and completed it by 8 pm. Though services were delayed due to the repair works, no untoward incident occurred. Also, no long-distance train was cancelled till late night.
Friday’s incident marks the first major disruption seen on the CR since the August 13 five-hour rail roko at Badlapur. Officials are still not sure as to how the fracture happened despite the fact they there had not been much of a variation in temperature in the past two days.
The CR has been able to maintain its punctuality since the Badlapur delay, and has given the suburban trains priority over long-distance trains during peak hours, especially between 8 am and 9 am.
Railway officials said that down fast line between Dadar and Matunga had slowed down due to the fractures in the evening. The services on the fast line from CST were diverted to slow track at Byculla. All the mail express trains were cleared via the loop line during this period. Also, heavy rainfall on Friday proved another nuisance for commuters who preferred trains to travelling by road.
Anita Chitale, a teacher who was travelling in the slow train from CST to Matunga, was one those who was delayed. “I finally reached Matunga half-an-hour later than expected. The train was stuck for 40 minutes, and when they finally started the train it was running at a snail’s pace,” she said.
