Mumbai: Wall collapses near Masjid station; harbour line trains stopped for 2 hours

The wall that collapsed is part of a BEST electric substation

A wall collapse near Masjid Bunder station on Thursday forced the railways to shut down services on the harbour line for two hours as a two-hour emergency block was implemented to remove the unsafe structure. This has led to cancellation of around 50 trains while another hundred were delayed, leaving the commuters in lurch.

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Civic and railway officials take down the remaining part of the dilapidated wall near Masjid Bunder station. Pics/Shadab Khan

The incident came to light thanks to the alertness of motorman SN Kamble who spotted the falling wall in front of his Panvel-bound local train around 7.15 am. "He did not start the train from the platform at Masjid station as he saw a portion of the wall fell near the track, making it unsafe for trains. He immediately informed the train manager who in turn alerted the control room. The engineering staff reached the site and cleared the debris within 15 minutes. The railways also alerted the BMC, asking them to take necessary action on the dilapidated wall," Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar said.

Officials said that the wall was a part of a BEST electric substation in the locality. Central Railway then suspended train operations between Wadala Road and CSMT from 2 pm to 4 pm while civic officials removed the remaining portion of the wall. "A part of the BEST sub-station collapsed. All the buildings in the area are more than 30 years old. We have given them notice to do a structural audit three months ago," said Dhanaji Herlekar, in-charge of B ward.

50
Approx no of trains that were cancelled