19 July,2017 11:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Shashank Rao
Mumbai's lifeline - the local trains - did swimmingly amid Tuesday's downpour. The suburban locals ran smoothly, with only minor delays. However, there were breakdowns on long distance trains on both the Central and Western Railway routes
Water-logging at Valsad station disrupted services on Mumbai-Gujarat route
Mumbai's lifeline - the local trains - did swimmingly amid Tuesday's downpour. The suburban locals ran smoothly, with only minor delays. However, there were breakdowns on long distance trains on both the Central and Western Railway routes.
The issue with long distance trains on the Western side was in Valsad station, where severe water logging led to disruption of long distance trains on the Mumbai-Gujarat route. Sources in WR said this happened at 2.30 am, when the level of flooded water went above 200 mm, leading to stoppage of trains. WR authorities decide to halt movement of all trains on this route as the water level had dangerously increased.
Also read - Mumbai rains: Crater-sized potholes dot city roads after downpour
Water logged at Valsad
"There was water logging on tracks till 5.30am. We were monitoring the situation from the control room," said a WR official. The water had risen almost till the platform, forcing trains to halt abruptly. WR officials said they could do little for the people stranded inside the long distance trains as water logging occurred through the night. "Due to very heavy rains and water logging on tracks at Valsad station, we cancelled and short terminated a few long distance trains," said Ravinder Bhakar, Chief PRO, WR.
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Later, they decided to get the trains into the suburban system to Bandra Terminus, Dadar and Mumbai Central after morning rush hours. Locals were running late on WR by around 5 minutes for sometime during the day, which was rectified later.
Surprisingly, the rains did not dampen services on CR, where locals were running late by 10 minutes or so, but there were no cancellations. Sources said there was no water logging despite the downpour as there was a low tide less than 4.5 meters.
Also read: Rains lash Mumbai, adjoining areas; suburban train services delayed
CR's rocky hiccup
CR did face a long distance hiccup though. Around 3.30pm, a boulder rolled downhill on the 17031 CSTM-Hyderabad Express derailing it between Thakurwadi and Monkey Hill stations near Khandala. Due to this long distance trains were affected. Whle rail traffic resumed on Karjat-Khandala section at 5.30pm, the train left for Hyderabad from Karjat at only at 7.57 pm. CR served 900 vada pavs and 700 bottles of water to stranded passengers.
"On the suburban section, there was no water logging even at the regular locations. It was a natural disaster near Khandala, which is known for rock falling," said Sunil Udasi, Chief PRO, CR.
