Mumbai: Trains stranded for 3 hours as overhead wire snaps at Masjid

Central Railway's (CR) miseries continued on Sunday as an overhead electrification (OHE) wire snapped at Masjid station, leading to many long-distance trains being delayed by more than three hours. Local trains were also running late by at least half an hour.

An overcrowded platform at Thane station. Local trains were running nearly 25 minutes late and due to the mega block, the few services that were operational were packed with passengers. Pic/Sameer Markande

The OHE wire broke around 6.51 am between Masjid, the station next to CST, meaning Down long-distance trains scheduled to leave the Terminus for outstation destinations couldn't leave the station. The hold-up lasted at least three hours, leaving passengers at subsequent suburban stations stranded.

Abbasi Gazali, a Kurla resident who was going to Ratnagiri with his sister, told mid-day while waiting at the station, "We are to board the Mandovi Express that was scheduled to depart from Dadar station at 7.30 am. We have been waiting here for more than three hours, but the train has not arrived."

mid-day's September 19 report on CR's maintenance woes

Although the fault was resolved by 10.30 am, the confusion persisted till 2 pm. Sameer Pej, another passenger who had come all the way from Silvassa to board the Mumbai CST-Howrah Superfast Express that was scheduled to depart from Dadar at 11.19 am, said, "I have been waiting for an hour for my train to arrive. The stationmaster told me it would arrive soon."

Moreover, Up trains also had to be terminated at Dadar and passengers on these trains were requested to alight and take the local trains to CST. Passengers went from the frying pan into the fire, as local trains, too, were running 20-25 minutes late.

To compound matters, there was a mega block, which meant fewer services and people packed in like sardines in the few services that were operational. The delay in the morning trains spilled over to the afternoon ones as well, with trains running nearly an hour late. A passenger going to Jharkand told this paper he had been waiting for an hour for his train to arrive.

mid-day has reported on CR's breakdowns in this month due to various reasons which include OHE cable snapping, Unit failures, rail fractures, derailment, etc. CR officials have reiterated that the reason for the poor maintenance of the services is due to the cancellation of mega blocks.

Railway speak
CR spokesperson A K Singh said, "The OHE between Masjid and CSTM broke down from 6.51 hours to 10.36 hours. Down slow line services were diverted on down fast line between CST and Byculla stations, and Up fast line services were diverted on the Up slow line between Byculla and CST stations during this period. Due to this, three services were cancelled and suburban trains are running 20 to 25 minutes behind schedule."